VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Visiting two countries over six days on his first foreign papal trip, Pope Leo XIV preached unity, dialogue and respect for differences as the only paths to peace.

Spending time with Catholics, other Christian leaders and top Muslim clerics in Turkey Nov. 27-Nov. 30 and Lebanon Nov. 30-Dec. 2, the pope made formal speeches about how believing in God as the father of all means recognizing one another as brothers and sisters.

But he also set aside time in a packed schedule for private talks, lunches and late evening meetings with the leaders. 

"The more we can promote authentic unity and understanding, respect and human relationships of friendship and dialogue in the world, the greater possibility there is that we will put aside the arms of war, that we will leave aside the distrust, the hatred, the animosity that has so often been built up and that we will find ways to come together and be able to promote authentic peace and justice throughout the world," he told reporters flying back to Rome with him Dec. 2.

The three iconic moments of the trip were his prayer with top Christian leaders Nov. 28 at the site of the Council of Nicaea, his visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul Nov. 29 and his prayer Dec. 2 amid the rubble of the Beirut port explosion in 2020.

The whole trip was planned to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its drafting of the Creed that mainline Christian communities still recite today. 

Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople hosted the ecumenical prayer service and the common recitation of the Creed on a platform overlooking the ruins of a Christian basilica in Iznik, site of the ancient Nicaea, about 80 miles southeast of Istanbul.

With the Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem or their representatives and with representatives of other Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant churches, Pope Leo said that at a time when humanity is "afflicted by violence and conflict," the world "is crying out for reconciliation."

"The desire for full communion among all believers in Jesus Christ is always accompanied by the search for fraternity among all human beings," he said. "In the Nicene Creed, we profess our faith 'in one God, the Father.' Yet, it would not be possible to invoke God as Father if we refused to recognize as brothers and sisters all other men and women, who are created in the image of God." 

The desire to reach out and form relationships with others also was on display when Pope Leo, like his two immediate predecessors, removed his shoes and entered the so-called Blue Mosque in Turkey's capital; he spent about 20 minutes inside but did not appear to pause for prayer as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis had done.

Instead, he listened to Askin Musa Tunca, the mosque's muezzin who calls people to prayer five times a day, explain the building, its construction and how Muslims pray. And the pope asked questions.

The Vatican press office said afterward that Pope Leo visited the mosque "in a spirit of reflection and attentive listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there in prayer." 

On his last morning in Beirut, he laid a wreath, lighted a candle and prayed silently at a memorial to the more than 200 people killed when improperly stored chemicals exploded at the port; the blast also injured some 7,000 people and left an estimated 300,000 people without homes.

Standing amid mountains of rubble, piles of burnt-out cars and heaps of tattered clothing and cloth, the pope was joined by family members of those killed and by people still bearing the scars of injuries they suffered that day.

They carried photos of the loved ones they lost and signs appealing for the government to seriously investigate who was at fault for allowing the chemicals to be stored there.

A young woman, crying, asked Pope Leo for a hug, which the pope gave her before putting his hand on her head and blessing her.

At Mass afterward, he said, "I prayed for all the victims, and I carry with me the pain, and the thirst for truth and justice, of so many families, of an entire country."

And after Mass, before heading to the airport, he told the people, "During these days of my first apostolic journey, undertaken during this Jubilee Year, I wanted to come as a pilgrim of hope to the Middle East, imploring God for the gift of peace for this beloved land, marked by instability, wars and suffering."

Even when it seems peace is far off, Pope Leo said, "I invite you to lift your gaze to the Lord who is coming! Let us look to him with hope and courage, inviting everyone to set out on the path of coexistence, fraternity and peace. Be artisans of peace, heralds of peace, witnesses of peace!"
 

Israel is preparing to open the Rafah crossing to allow Gaza residents into Egypt, officials said Wednesday.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 3, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

How far would you go to serve God? Would you be willing to travel to the ends of the earth, with nothing but the guarantee of hardship, deprivation, and persecution? 

Dec. 3 is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of missionaries and missions who led an unlikely life of adventure and heroism, full of unexpected twists and turns, taking the faith to the ends of the earth. 

Born in 1506 to a noble Navarrese-Basque family, Francis grew up in a land wracked with war. Wedged between the growing imperial powers of Castile-Aragon (Spain) and France, Navarre seldom knew peace during Francis’ childhood. 

As a member of the nobility, Francis was expected to lead a warrior’s life along with his father and brothers. But at the age of 10, his life took its first dramatic and tragic turn. His father died, his homeland kingdom of Navarre was defeated by Spain, his brothers were imprisoned, and his childhood home, the Castle of the House of Javier (Xavier), was almost entirely destroyed. 

With Francis’ family disgraced and nearly wiped out, his prospects for a bright future looked dim. But God still had incredible plans for young Francis. 

Hoping to rebuild the family’s legacy, Francis was sent in 1525 to the center of European theology and studies — the University of Paris.

There, Francis quickly made a name for himself. Handsome, he also had a keen intellect and was an agile athlete with a particular gift for pole vaulting. The last thing on young Francis’ mind was a life of humble service to God and the Church. However, his life took a second dramatic turn after he met a fellow Basque noble, Ignatius of Loyola.

Headstrong and stubborn, Francis was initially repelled by Ignatius’ ideas of radical devotion to God. But Ignatius would remind him of Jesus’ words in the Bible: “For what doth it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Mt 16:26).

Inspired by Ignatius’ piety and fervor, Francis finally decided to dedicate his life to the service of God. In 1534, along with Ignatius and five others, Francis took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in a chapel at Montmartre in France.

Receiving holy orders alongside Ignatius in 1537, Francis had intended to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. But war in the region made such a journey impossible. Once again, God was about to unexpectedly and radically alter the course of Francis’ life.

Pope Leo III asked the newly-founded Jesuits to send missionaries to the Portuguese colonies in India. Though Francis was originally not supposed to go, one of the Jesuits assigned to the mission fell ill, and Francis volunteered in his place. Through that courageous act of trust, God would use Francis to transform the entire Asian continent.

Francis set out for India in 1541 on his 35th birthday. Traveling by sea at this time was extremely dangerous and uncomfortable, and those who dared to do so risked disease with no guarantee of ever successfully arriving at their destination. Francis had to sail all the way around Africa, past the Cape of Good Hope, almost to the very bottom of the globe, just to cross the Indian Ocean and arrive in Goa, a province in India.

Upon his arrival in India in 1542, Francis immediately faced countless challenges in bringing the word of God to the people of this new and foreign region. For seven years Francis preached in the streets and public squares, laboring tirelessly across India and the Asian Pacific islands, contending with persecution from warlords and at times even from the Portuguese authorities meant to help him. 

After converting tens of thousands and planting the seeds of a renewed and lasting Christian Church in India, Francis began to hear stories about an enchanting island nation known as “Japan.” His heart was set ablaze with the desire to bring the Gospel to Japan.

After he had ensured the faithful in India would be properly cared for, Francis set sail for the mysterious new land, becoming the first to bring the Christian faith to Japan, on the complete opposite side of the world from his home in Navarre.

In Japan, Francis and his companions traveled far and wide, often on foot and with almost no resources. Crisscrossing the nation, he built up a vibrant Christian community more than 6,000 miles from Rome. 

Francis would then hear of the even more mysterious and closely guarded nation of China and there, too, he decided to bring the word of God. But before he could find a way into China’s heartland, he became ill and died in 1552 while on the Chinese Shangchuan Island. 

Now considered one of the greatest of all the Church’s missionaries, St. Francis Xavier proved that one life lived in complete trust in God can transform an entire continent and the whole world. 

This story was first published on Dec. 3, 2022, and has been updated.

On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Leo XIV will continue the papal tradition of visiting the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary near Rome’s Spanish Steps.

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As flooding and landslides continue to devastate Southeast Asia, Catholic and Christian parishes and organizations step up to offer support and “together to alleviate the suffering of the victims.”

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There are only a few hours left until the end of Giving Tuesday! If you haven't yet head over to givecatholicnky.org and donate!

CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 18:04 pm (CNA).

Legislators in Canada are reportedly poised to strip religious protections from the country’s hate-speech laws as part of an effort to crack down on hateful symbols throughout the country. 

Lawmakers with the Liberal Party of Canada have reportedly struck a deal with the Bloc Québécois party to remove the religious exemptions from the national code.

Canadian law forbids people from “incit[ing] hatred against any identifiable group,” though it provides exemptions for individuals whose opinions are grounded in religion or a religious text. 

The National Post reported on Dec. 1 that the exemptions are expected to be removed in an upcoming amendment to the country’s hate-speech laws. The paper cited a “senior government source” who was granted anonymity to discuss the proceedings.

“The bill is in a place now … everyone is happy,” the source told the Post.

Reports of hate crimes in Canada have been on the rise in recent years, fueled particularly by antisemitic incidents. One report from the human rights group B’nai Brith Canada found a massive rise in antisemitic incidents in the country after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, with another notable increase throughout 2024.

The proposed bill in the Canadian Legislature would amend the country’s hate-speech laws to criminalize the display of the Nazi swastika as well as the symbol for the Nazi SS organization — both of which are regularly used to target Jewish people.

The legislation, if passed, will also repeal a requirement that the Canadian attorney general sign off on proceedings for “hate propaganda offenses.”

Lawmakers with the Conservative Party are opposing the proposed revisions, arguing that the symbols and crimes it moves to criminalize are “already illegal” and criticizing the removal of the attorney general’s involvement in hate crime proceedings, calling that rule an “important safeguard.” 

The Conservatives also argue that the proposed revision “lowers the legal standard for ‘hatred,’ threatening free speech and targeting legitimate expression.” The amendment would define “hatred” as “the emotion that involves detestation or vilification and that is stronger than disdain or dislike.”

Christian advocates, meanwhile, have also criticized the proposal. The Ontario-based Christian Legal Fellowship in October urged the government to keep the law’s religious protections in place, arguing that the provisions are “directly in line with principles of justice and equality that inform efforts to combat discrimination and hatred.”

“[T]o remove this defense would risk undermining the constitutional integrity” of the hate-speech laws, the group argued. 

Advocates in Canada have elsewhere recently raised concerns over religious freedom protections in the North American country. 

In September, Montreal Archbishop Christian Lépine noted the “serious concerns” around Quebec Premier François Legault’s proposal to end prayer in public places. The prelate argued that to “forbid public prayer would be somewhat like forbidding thought itself.”

In December 2024, meanwhile, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance suggested removing “advancement of religion” from the country’s list of recognized charitable purposes, a proposal one group warned posed a “direct threat to religious freedom and the vital role faith communities play in Canadian society.”

Census data from 2021 showed that the Catholic population in Canada declined by almost 2 million people in the prior 10 years.

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CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2025 / 17:34 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s first official papal trip from Nov. 27–Dec. 2 to Turkey and Lebanon has just ended. The wide-ranging international visit included historic ecumenical encounters, deeply symbolic gestures of prayer, and pastoral visits to Christian communities under pressure. Pope Leo highlighted the importance of unity, peace, and fraternity, and brought encouragement to a region marked by ancient faith and present suffering.

Here are some of the most powerful moments from Pope Leo’s trip:

Turkey

Upon landing at the Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Pope Leo was greeted by Turkish authorities and members of the military. Outside of the Presidential Palace, the pontiff was welcomed by a cavalry escort, the playing of the national anthems, and 21 cannon shots.

The pope commemorated the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea on Nov. 28 alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and other Christian leaders in the Turkish city of Iznik, southeast of Istanbul, the site of the Council of Nicaea, historically known as the birthplace of the Nicene Creed.

The ecumenical prayer service took place at the archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of St. Neophytus, built in 380 at the site of the first Christian ecumenical council, which was convened by Emperor Constantine I in 325.

While in Istanbul, Pope Leo visited the Nursing Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, telling the community that Christian charity begins not with doing but with being — i.e., living a real communion with those one serves.

Later that day, Pope Leo met the “little flock” of Catholics at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul. Catholics in Turkey make up roughly just 0.05% of the country’s 85 million people. The pope encouraged them to rediscover what he called the Gospel’s “logic of littleness” and not to be discouraged by their tiny numbers but to recognize in them the strength of authentic Christian witness.

In another touching moment at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, a young child eagerly awaited and received the blessing of the Holy Father:

Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew I gave a joint ecumenical blessing from the balcony of the patriarchate following the Orthodox Divine Liturgy on Nov. 30. The joint blessing recalls the fraternity and communion between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople.

Lebanon

Ahead of his second day in Lebanon, a stunning rainbow appeared over the Port of Beirut, the site of the explosion that devastated the area in 2020.

Pope Leo XIV became the first pope in history to visit the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf when he arrived at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya on the second day of his apostolic journey to Lebanon.

In another beautiful moment, Pope Leo gave a Golden Rose to the Virgin Mary during his visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, Lebanon.

A little girl proudly showed off a rosary given to her by Pope Leo during the pope’s meeting with bishops, clergy, and religious at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.

On the final morning of his trip to Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV paused before the ruins of the Beirut port explosion, praying in silence and placing a wreath in memory of the victims. In one of the most emotional moments of his trip, he also met family members of those killed and survivors still carrying the wounds of the Aug. 4, 2020, blast.

Five years after the explosion, one of the largest nonnuclear blasts in history, families of the 236 people killed and more than 7,000 wounded say they are still waiting for truth and accountability.

After visiting the site of the explosion, Pope Leo celebrated Mass for an estimated 150,000 people at the Beirut Waterfront.

While visiting the De La Croix Hospital in Jal el Dib, north of Beirut, Pope Leo also spent time in the Saint-Dominique wing, where children with severe physical and mental disabilities are cared for, and blessed the children.

From there, Pope Leo boarded the papal plane for Rome, telling the Lebanese people: “Leaving this land means carrying you in my heart.”

Washington, D.C., Dec 2, 2025 / 17:04 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether a New Jersey faith-based pregnancy center may immediately assert its First Amendment right to challenge a state subpoena demanding donor information — including names, addresses, and places of employment — in federal court, or whether it must first proceed through the state court system.

The case, First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin, has drawn support from a diverse array of groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members of Congress, the Trump administration, and the ACLU. All argue that First Choice should be able to challenge the subpoena in federal court without first litigating the issue in New Jersey state court.

At the center of the dispute is a 2023 subpoena issued by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin seeking extensive donor information from First Choice. In 2022, Platkin created what he called a “reproductive rights strike force” to “protect access to abortion care,” and his office issued a “consumer alert” describing crisis pregnancy centers like First Choice as organizations that may provide “false or misleading information about the safety and legality of abortion.”

In its Supreme Court brief, First Choice describes itself as a faith-based nonprofit serving women in New Jersey by providing material support and medical services such as ultrasounds and pregnancy tests under a licensed medical director. The organization does not provide or refer for abortions, a point it plainly and repeatedly states on its website.

Platkin’s subpoena commanded First Choice to produce documents and information responsive to 28 separate demands, including the full names, phone numbers, addresses, and current or last known employers of every donor who contributed money by any means other than one specific website. It warned that failure to comply could result in contempt of court and other legal penalties.

The attorney general’s office said it needed donor identities to determine whether contributors were “misled” into believing First Choice provided abortions. Platkin argued he needed donor contact information so he could “contact a representative sample and determine what they did or did not know about their donations.”

First Choice quickly sued in federal court, arguing the subpoena violated its First Amendment rights by chilling its speech and freedom of association. The federal district court dismissed the case as “unripe,” ruling that the pregnancy center must wait until a New Jersey court seeks to enforce the subpoena. The Supreme Court later agreed to hear the case to determine whether First Choice may pursue its challenge in federal court now.

At oral argument, First Choice’s attorney, Erin M. Hawley, told the justices that the court has “long safeguarded the freedom of association by protecting the membership and donor lists of nonprofit organizations.” Yet, she said, “the attorney general of New Jersey issued a sweeping subpoena commanding on pain of contempt that First Choice produce donor names, addresses, and phone numbers so his office could contact and question them. That violates the right of association.”

Hawley urged the court to recognize that the subpoena was issued by “a hostile attorney general who has issued a consumer alert, urged New Jerseyans to beware of pregnancy centers, and assembled a strike force against them.”

She also noted that the attorney general “has never identified a single complaint against First Choice” and that the threat of contempt and business dissolution is “a death knell for nonprofits like First Choice.”

Arguing for New Jersey, Sundeep Iyer, the attorney general’s chief counsel, said First Choice had not demonstrated that the subpoena “objectively chilled” its First Amendment rights. He argued that the subpoena is “non-self-executing,” meaning it imposes no immediate obligation and cannot require compliance unless a court orders enforcement.

Justice Neil Gorsuch appeared skeptical, noting that New Jersey law gives attorney general subpoenas the force of law and allows the attorney general to seek contempt orders against those who fail to comply. “I don’t know how to read that other than it’s pretty self-executing to me, counsel,” he said.

Justice Elena Kagan questioned whether an “ordinary person” receiving such a subpoena would feel reassured by the claim that it required court approval before being enforced. A donor, she said, is unlikely “to take that as very reassuring.”

In an amicus curiae brief, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged the court to side with First Choice. “Compelling disclosure of a religious organization’s financial support violates the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion,” the bishops wrote. Forced donor disclosure, they argued, interferes with a religious organization’s mission and burdens the free-exercise rights of donors who give anonymously in accordance with scriptural teachings.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in the coming months.