Co-founder Bob Hogan (left) and CEO and co-founder Daniel Cruz (right) are launching a pro-life health insurance plan that is in line with Catholic morality. / Credit: Courtesy of Presidio Healthcare

CNA Staff, Nov 28, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Two Texas pro-lifers are launching a health care plan that embraces Catholic life ethics, creating an ethical option for Christians.

Health insurance companies often cover things that are in tension with Catholic Church teaching or a Christian pro-life ethic, such as abortion, contraceptives, or assisted suicide.

Daniel Cruz and Bob Hogan founded the FortressPlan by Presidio Healthcare because they wanted a pro-life, Christian alternative. 

“FortressPlan,” which launched in November, does not cover any health care offerings that go against Catholic teaching. 

While making a start in Texas, the co-founders hope to expand across the U.S. 

Hogan, co-founder of Presidio and an alum of Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, said that health care sharing ministries “are largely unregulated and are not legally required to pay families’ medical bills,” which can “cause tremendous financial stress for families.”

As a more realistic alternative, he and Cruz “set out to create a real insurance company,” Hogan said in a statement shared with CNA. 

Cruz spoke with CNA about the Catholic values behind the FortressPlan. 

CNA: What makes Presidio Healthcare’s FortressPlan unique among insurance options in the U.S.?

Daniel Cruz: The FortressPlan stands out as the only health insurance plan that aligns with the culture of life. Unlike other insurers, it does not cover abortifacients, contraception, transgender treatments or surgeries, euthanasia, in vitro fertilization, or similar practices.

What makes the Fortress Plan pro-life and Christian? What inspired you to align the plan with the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services”?

Presidio Healthcare Insurance Company is the first health insurer in the United States to be filed as a Catholic entity. Designed to respect the dignity of every person, the FortressPlan aligns with the “Ethical and Religious Directives [ERDs] for Catholic Health Care Services.”

The ERDs represent a formally recognized expression of Catholic moral doctrine, protected under federal conscience and religious-freedom laws, which allows us to operate in the private market with an authentically Catholic health plan. A major element of our mission is to promote life-affirming physicians and services, and the ERDs serve as a concrete guide to help us accomplish that aim.

What inspired you to launch the pro-life Christian health insurance option, the FortressPlan? What challenges have you faced in launching it?

I was approached by a former client to estimate the cost of an abortion for their health plan. This request ignited a passion to apply my skills as an actuary in a different direction. 

After discovering that no insurance companies were entirely pro-life or that sharing ministries fell short of offering true financial protection for families, I decided to establish the first pro-life Christian insurance company.

What are your future goals for the FortressPlan and this movement toward pro-life, Christian insurance? How do you hope it will impact people?

Our future objectives include expanding nationwide and entering both the ACA [Affordable Care Act] and employer markets, building a well-recognized brand that represents Christian health care.

Members of Iglesia ni Cristo take part in a protest against corruption on Nov. 16, 2025 in Manila, Philippines. A powerful Philippine megachurch, Iglesia ni Cristo, mobilized over half a million members to join growing protests over alleged corruption in multibillion-peso flood control projects. Catholic leaders in the Philippines have also mobilized Catholics to participate in similar marches. / Credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Nov 28, 2025 / 05:53 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed. 

Filipino archbishop asks Catholics to attend protests against government corruption

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, the outgoing president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, has invited Filipinos across the country to attend rallies this weekend in Manila to protest government corruption. The protest comes on the heels of the Trillion Peso March held on Sept. 21, which drew hundreds of thousands.

Thousands of Filipinos are expected to participate in the march Sunday, according to Herald Malaysia Online. The protests come amid a growing political crisis and rising public anger over scandals and abuses of government funds.

Priest and security guard attacked in Trinidad 

A priest and a security guard at St. Benedict’s Roman Catholic Church in La Romaine, Trinidad, were the victims of an attack and robbery on Monday, Trinidad Express reported.

Five attackers cut the electricity, bound the security guard, entered the rectory, woke and tied up the priest Father Derek Anton, and stole various electronics and cash.

The crime is being investigated and the Archdiocese of Port of Spain has confirmed it. “At this time we ask you all for your prayers [for the victims] and for all victims of crime,” the archdiocese said in its statement.

Mozambique archbishop pleads for humanitarian support to aid displaced people

Archbishop Inacio Saure of Namula, Mozambique, has issued an urgent plea for humanitarian aid for more than 30,000 people who have been displaced in the Alua district of Memba.

Saure, who is also president of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique told Vatican News that the people have fled their homes “are currently sheltering in the administrative post of Alua” due to recent terrorist incursions in Nampula province. The archbishop said he has instructed Caritas in Nampula to respond to the crisis. 

Catholic Church rallies in Thailand to assist victims of historic flooding

Historic flooding in southern Thailand has impacted over two million people, causing death and destruction and stranding many tourists. According to Vatican News, in response to the disaster Bishop Paul Trairong Multree of the Diocese of Surat Thani called a meeting Tuesday of Church-led relief groups.

“Our relief team will get working tomorrow morning immediately with [the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees], bringing drinking water and essentials to the people affected,” Trairong reportedly told LiCAS News, adding that supplies are expected to arrive from Bangkok and other dioceses.

Tensions between Pakistanis and Afghans may erupt into new war, says Karachi priest

Escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have created fear that a new war may be on the horizon, according to Father Mario Angelo Rodrigues, a priest of the Archdiocese of Karachi and rector of St. Patrick’s Catholic High School in Karachi.

He told Fides that resentments and fears have built in the wake of the influx of Afghani refugees and recent terrorist attacks. 

“To re-establish a climate of mutual trust and embark on a path to peace, the Pakistani government should accept the situation and grant residency to Afghan refugees who are living peacefully and have no links to terrorism, in the spirit of an open and pluralistic society,” the priest said.

He also noted that “the government in Kabul should cooperate in combating terrorism, our common enemy. As Pakistani Christians, we support paths of acceptance and brotherhood so that we can live in true peace within our society and with our neighbors."

Nun who fights human trafficking reacts to new UN report on femicide

In the wake of a new UN report highlighting the high numbers of women killed by men and new forms of violence being caused by tech developments, Sister Abby Avelino, the international coordinator of Talitha Kum, an international group that fights human trafficking, told Vatican News that, “Digital violence is increasingly widespread, and the online world is now a major site of exploitation.” 

The UN report shows that more than 38% of women are estimated to have experienced online violence, while 85% have witnessed abuse directed at other women on digital platforms.

IZNIK, Turkey (CNS) -- Although the ancient city of Nicaea lies in ruins and the geographic center of Christianity has shifted West, Pope Leo XIV and Christian leaders gathered at an archaeological site in Turkey to celebrate the enduring faith set out in the Nicene Creed.

Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople hosted the ecumenical prayer service and the common recitation of the Creed Nov. 28 at 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 marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea -- the primary motive for his first foreign trip as pope. 

The joint recitation of the Creed did not include the phrase known as the "filioque" -- the statement that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son" -- since the phrase is not used by the Orthodox because it was inserted into the Latin Creed by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.

Recent popes, including Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis and Pope Leo, have omitted the phrase at ecumenical prayer services.

Standing on a platform overlooking the remains of the Basilica of St. Neophytos, now partially submerged in Lake Iznik, the church leaders took turns leading the prayers -- in English, Greek and Arabic -- and lighting candles as a Catholic choir, singing in Latin, and an Orthodox choir, singing in Greek, alternated. 

Patriarch Bartholomew, welcoming the pope and other guests, noted that "despite so many intervening centuries and all the upheavals, difficulties and divisions they have brought, we nevertheless approach this sacred commemoration with shared reverence and a common feeling of hope."

"The power of this place does not reside in what passes away, but in what endures forever," he said.

Speaking after the patriarch, Pope Leo told his fellow Christian leaders 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." 

Though united by faith, the Russian Orthodox Church -- the largest of the world's Eastern Orthodox churches -- was not represented at the service. The Russian church broke relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate over the recognition in 2018 of the autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. 

Belief in God the father, Pope Leo said in Iznik, means "there is a universal fraternity of men and women regardless of ethnicity, nationality, religion or personal perspectives."

With many of the Christian leaders, especially the Oriental Orthodox, coming from nations that recently faced or are facing war and persecution, Pope Leo said Christians must give concrete witness to their belief that all people are children of one God and therefore brothers and sisters to each other.

"Furthermore, we must strongly reject the use of religion for justifying war, violence or any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism," he said. "Instead, the paths to follow are those of fraternal encounter, dialogue and cooperation."

The pope also repeated a concern he had mentioned during a meeting with Catholic leaders earlier in the day: the risk that many Christians have departed from the Nicene Creed's firm belief in the divinity of Jesus.

"This question is especially important for Christians, who risk reducing Jesus Christ to a kind of charismatic leader or superman, a misrepresentation that ultimately leads to sadness and confusion," he said.

At the time of the Council of Nicaea, the pope said, Arius -- a priest from Alexandra in Egypt -- had denied the divinity of Christ, reducing him to "a mere intermediary between God and humanity, ignoring the reality of the Incarnation such that the divine and the human remained irremediably separated."

"But if God did not become man, how can mortal creatures participate in his immortal life?" Pope Leo asked.

The pope told the Christian leaders that sharing the same faith in Jesus and being able to recite the Creed together means there "is a profound bond already uniting all Christians."

"We are all invited to overcome the scandal of the divisions that unfortunately still exist and to nurture the desire for unity for which the Lord Jesus prayed and gave his life," the pope said. "The more we are reconciled, the more we Christians can bear credible witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is a proclamation of hope for all."

Patriarch Bartholomew told the leaders that with "the fervor of the faith of Nicaea burning in our hearts," they must "run the course" of Christian unity in fulfillment of Jesus' prayer for the unity of his disciples.

"And, finally," the patriarch said, "let us love one another that with one mind we may confess: Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- Trinity consubstantial and undivided."
 

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

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 27, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life- and abortion-related news.

U.S. legislators introduce bill to protect medical residents from coercive abortion training 

U.S. legislators have introduced a bill to protect the conscience rights of medical students and residents who often feel pressured or even coerced into participating in abortions during their training. 

U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, Senator James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, and others introduced the Conscience Protections for Medical Residents Act, designed to “ensure medical students and residents are never pressured or coerced into abortion training that violates their moral or religious beliefs,” according to a press release.  

The bill would establish federal protections for students, making abortion training an “opt-in” rather than “opt-out” system as “residents often fear that opting out could affect evaluations, recommendations, or future career opportunities,” according to the press release. 

“The first rule of medicine is to do no harm, yet for many aspiring doctors, coerced abortion training not only contradicts that oath but also violates their moral and religious beliefs,” Cornyn said in a statement. 

“By allowing medical residents to opt-in rather than opt-out of abortion training, this legislation would protect health care professionals’ convictions and give them the freedom to practice medicine without fear of retaliation.” 

Investigative videos find late term abortions performed in Canada without serious medical reason 

After a pregnant pro-life woman went undercover in abortion clinics across Canada, she discovered that late-term abortionists are easily accessible, even in cases where the woman isn’t having medical issues, according to recently released videos. 

Alissa Golob, co-founder of RightNow, went undercover when she was five months pregnant in 2023, obtaining videos in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and elsewhere that have been released to the public over the past two weeks.   

The videos show abortionists saying that women don’t need to prove that they are having serious medical issues in order to have a late-term abortion. 

“Canadians are often told that late-term abortions never happen in Canada and if they do, they are for extreme medical reasons, such as the life of the mother,” Golob said in a Nov. 19 statement. 

“Yet, as you will see in these videos, I was told numerous times that attaining a late-term abortion in Canada is relatively easy, it is legal, and that I did not need a reason, medical or otherwise, regarding myself or my pregnancy,” Golob continued. 

RightNow is calling on the Canadian government in a petition to protect unborn children by restricting late-term abortions after five months of pregnancy. 

North Dakota reinstates law protecting unborn babies 

North Dakota’s Supreme Court reinstated a state law protecting unborn children in nearly all cases.  

In 2023, North Dakota made it a felony for abortionists to take the lives of unborn children except in cases of rape or incest and medical emergencies. After a lower court ruled that the law was unconstitutional, the law was put on pause. 

On Nov. 21, the state’s supreme court reversed the lower court’s ruling. A 3-2 majority of justices voted to uphold the lower court’s ruling, but the state’s constitution requires a minimum of four justices to declare a state law unconstitutional. 

U.S. senator calls on government to prevent taxpayer-funded abortions in 2026 funding  

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) this week urged his Republican colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure that the funding for the fiscal year 2026 does not fund abortions. 

In a Nov. 24 letter, Cornyn asked the senators “to hold the line against any Democratic efforts to subvert the Hyde amendment,” an amendment that prevents federal taxpayer dollars from directly funding abortions. 

Cornyn noted that the recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) defunded organizations that fund abortion, which he said “showed that even in the wake of the historic Dobbs decision, our fight is not over.” 

“Democrats shut down the government for 43 days in an unsuccessful attempt to undue the work Republicans accomplished in OBBBA, including the progress we made to stop forced taxpayer funding of abortion,” Cornyn said. “Now is not the time to give an inch on our pro-life values.”

Image from page 155 of “Young Folks’ History of the United States” (1903). / Credit: Public domain

St. Louis, Missouri, Nov 27, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

In 1621, lacking both the skills and the resources necessary to survive in the harsh territory of New England, European pilgrims encountered a miracle: a Native American who not only spoke English but who also used his skills and knowledge to help them adapt to their environment and survive the brutal winter.

This was Squanto, a man who occupies a special place in the hearts of many people who celebrate Thanksgiving because of his willingness and ability to help the newcomers to his land.

Squanto’s full name was Tisquantum, and he was a member of the Patuxet tribe, which lived in and around modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was probably born around 1585 in the area that is now Boston.

Little is known about Tisquantum’s early life, but what is known is that he was abducted from his homeland as a slave by an Englishman, Thomas Hunt, in 1614. He ended up in Malaga, Spain, where a group of Franciscans bought him in order to free him. It is apparently from these Franciscans that he received baptism and became Catholic, though it is not clear to what extent he was catechized and practiced his new faith.

Damien Costello, a Catholic historian and theologian, told CNA that the historical record portrays “a very skillful agent” in Tisquantum who was able to change his situation and engage with European culture. He was able to find employment as a translator in England and later convinced a wealthy financier to fund an expedition back to his homeland.

When Tisquantum finally made it back to where his tribe lived in present-day Massachusetts, his life took a tragic turn. He discovered that his entire tribe, while he was in Europe, had been wiped out by disease — he was the sole survivor.

The Pilgrims arrived in New England in 1620. They were far from the first Europeans to set foot on those shores — this was many years after Jesuit missionaries had started missionary activity in the area but hadn’t settled. When the Pilgrims arrived in what had once been Patuxet territory, the empty land made a good place to settle. Tisquantum, no doubt mourning the loss of his people, was nevertheless able to deftly reinvent himself as an intermediary between the Pilgrims and Native leaders.

In March 1621, the chief of the Wampanoag confederation, Massasoit, went to meet with the Pilgrims and brought Tisquantum along to translate. After negotiations fell apart, Tisquantum stayed with the Pilgrims and helped to facilitate what we now know as the first Thanksgiving — a meal between the Pilgrims and the Natives of the area. Tisquantum died the next year, in 1622.

So, was Tisquantum a Catholic? Costello says it is likely he was baptized and thus, theologically, he was indeed a Catholic. Native American culture was very spiritual, and Costello said he doesn’t think it unlikely that Tisquantum saw his baptism as a positive spiritual experience.

“Catholicism was a crucial ingredient in Squanto’s resiliency, the regenerative principle that gave spiritual power to sustain the disjunction of being a global citizen in a world forever turned upside down,” Costello later wrote in an article for U.S. Catholic.

As to whether Tisquantum continued to practice his Catholic faith for the rest of his life, there’s little evidence to say for sure. In a very real sense, God only knows.

This story was adapted from an episode of Catholic News Agency’s award-winning storytelling podcast, CNA Newsroom, and first published on Nov. 24, 2022. You can listen to that episode here.

ANKARA, Turkey (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV began his first papal trip speaking of dialogue, peace and thanksgiving -- referring to both the holiday and his own gratitude.

On the plane to Turkey Nov. 27, he wished a Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans among the 80 journalists traveling with him and told them, "It's a wonderful day to celebrate."

He also received from reporters two pumpkin pies and a pecan pie; he said he would share "part of it."

Pope Leo also was given a baseball bat that had belonged to 1950s White Sox player Nellie Fox.

After expressing his appreciation, the pope asked, "How did you get that through security?" 

During the flight, speaking to the reporters from the front of the economy section of the ITA Airways plane, Pope Leo said, "I want to begin by saying thank you to each and every one of you for the service that you offer to the Vatican, to the Holy See, to my person, but to the whole world. It's so important today that the message be transmitted in a way that really reveals the truth and the harmony that the world needs."

Landing in Ankara after the flight of almost three hours, Pope Leo fulfilled the dictates of protocol as a visiting head of state, meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Safi Arpagus, the head of the national religious affairs office, known as the Diyanet.

Later, addressing the president, other government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and civic leaders, Pope Leo told them, "Today, more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it with firm will and patient resolve." 

After World War II, he said, the world came together and formed the United Nations and other international and regional organizations committed to dialogue, cooperation and conflict resolution.

"We are now experiencing a phase marked by a heightened level of conflict on the global level, fueled by prevailing strategies of economic and military power," Pope Leo said. "This is enabling what Pope Francis called 'a third world war fought piecemeal.'"

"We must in no way give in to this," the pope insisted. "The future of humanity is at stake. The energies and resources absorbed by this destructive dynamic are being diverted from the real challenges that the human family should instead be facing together today, namely peace, the fight against hunger and poverty, health and education, and the protection of creation."

In a land where most people are Muslim, but the constitution officially proclaims the nation secular, Pope Leo praised both the tolerance of religious diversity and the encouragement given to people of all religions to practice their faith.

"In a society like the one here in Turkey, where religion plays a visible role, it is essential to honor the dignity and freedom of all God's children, both men and women, fellow nationals and foreigners, poor and rich," he said.

"We are all children of God, and this has personal, social and political implications," he said, including working for the common good and respecting all people.

Pope Francis, who visited Turkey in 2014, urged all believers in God "to feel the pain of others and to listen to the cry of the poor and of the earth," the pope said. "He thus encouraged us to compassionate action, which is a reflection of the one God who is merciful and compassionate" -- as Muslims frequently repeat -- and "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love," as the Psalms say.

Pope Leo encouraged all people in Turkey and all people of good will to defend social bonds, beginning with the family. 

"People do not obtain greater opportunities or happiness from an individualistic culture, nor by showing contempt for marriage or shunning openness to life," he said.

"Those who scorn fundamental human ties and fail to learn how to bear even their limitations and fragility," he said, "more easily become intolerant and incapable of interacting with our complex world."

Pope Leo asked the people of Turkey to value their diversity, both cultural and religious. And he assured them that the nation's Catholic community -- about 35,000 people or less than 1% of the population -- wants to contribute.

"Uniformity would be an impoverishment," the pope said. "Indeed, a society is alive if it has a plurality, for what makes it a civil society are the bridges that link its people together."

Unfortunately, he said, today "communities are increasingly polarized and torn apart by extreme positions that fragment them."
 

Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś is the new archbishop of Krakow, the archdiocese that Pope St. John Paul II led in Poland. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez / EWTN News

Rome Newsroom, Nov 26, 2025 / 19:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, until now the archbishop of Łódź, as the new archbishop of Krakow, the archdiocese in Poland that was formerly led by Pope St. John Paul II.

The cardinal succeeds Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski, 76, whose resignation has been accepted by the Holy Father, as reported by the Vatican Press Office on Nov. 26.

Ryś was born on Feb. 9, 1964, in Krakow and is 61 years old. He will lead the archdiocese where Karol Wojtyła, who would later become Pope St. John Paul II, served as a priest, auxiliary bishop, and archbishop from 1946 to 1978, the year he was elected Successor of St. Peter.

Who is the new archbishop of Krakow in Poland?

Ryś studied at the major seminary in Krakow and was ordained a priest on May 22, 1988. He worked on and received a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Theological Academy of Krakow (1989-1994).

He has held, among others, the following positions: parochial vicar of Saints Margaret and Catherine in Kęty (1988-1989); professor of Church history at the Pontifical Theological Academy in Krakow which would later become the John Paul II Pontifical University (1994-2011); rector of the major seminary (2007-2011); and president of the Conference of Rectors of Major Seminaries in Poland (2010-2011).

He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow on July 16, 2011, and received episcopal consecration on Sept. 28 that year. On Sept. 14, 2017, he was appointed archbishop of Łódź.

Pope Francis created him a cardinal at the consistory of Sept. 30, 2023.

Within the Polish Bishops Conference, he presides over the Council for Religious Dialogue and the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism, according to a statement from the Polish episcopate. He is also a member of the Council for Ecumenism, the Council for Culture and the Protection of Cultural Heritage, and the Council for the Family.

At the Vatican, he is a member of the Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

His episcopal motto is: Virtus in infirmitate (Strength in weakness).

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 greets a baby during the general audience in November 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Nov 26, 2025 / 18:04 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV praised “the wonderful adventure” of becoming parents that many families are choosing to embark on today, even in a time marked by economic and social difficulties.

The pontiff dedicated part of Wednesday’s general audience to “trusting in the God of life,” and promoting humanity “in all its expressions,” above all in the “wonderful adventure of motherhood and fatherhood.”

“In your families, may you never lack the courage to make decisions about motherhood and fatherhood. Do not be afraid to welcome and defend every child conceived. Proclaim and serve the Gospel of life. God is the lover of life. Therefore, always protect it with care and love,” he said in his greetings to the Polish-speaking pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Leo XIV acknowledged, however, that this vocation is developing today in a challenging context “in which families struggle to bear the burden of daily life.”

Thus, he lamented that many families “are often held back in their plans and dreams” by these pressures, which can discourage couples from starting a family or expanding the one they already have.

For the pontiff, family life also means committing to “an economy based on solidarity, striving for a common good equally enjoyed by all, respecting and caring for creation, offering comfort through listening, presence, and concrete and selfless help.”

The Holy Father continued with his catechesis on “the Pasch of Christ,” which “ illuminates the mystery of life and allows us to look at it with hope,” although he acknowledged that this “is not always easy or obvious.”

“Many lives, in every part of the world, appear laborious, painful, filled with problems and obstacles to be overcome,” he observed. However, he affirmed that human beings receive life as “a gift.” 

The pope then pointed to  “the questions of all ages” that have marked the history of human thought: “Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is the ultimate meaning of this journey?”

For the pontiff, “living” evokes “a hope” that acts as a “deep-seated drive” that “keeps us walking in difficulty, that prevents us from giving up in the fatigue of the journey, that makes us certain that the pilgrimage of existence will lead us home.”

Society’s ‘sickness’: a lack of confidence in life

During his reflections, the pope noted there is “a widespread sickness in the world”: a lack of confidence in life.

This lack of confidence, he explained, takes the form of silent resignation, as if life were no longer perceived as a gift received, but as an unknown or even a “threat” against which it is advisable to protect oneself “so as not to end up disappointed.”

In this context, the pope affirmed that the "value of living and of generating life" becomes an "urgent call" today, especially because — he noted, quoting the Book of Wisdom — God is the quintessential "lover of life" (Wisdom 11:26).

The pope emphasized that "God’s logic" remains “faithful to his plan of love and life; he does not tire of supporting humanity even when, following in Cain’s footsteps, it obeys the blind instinct of violence in war, discrimination, racism, and the many forms of slavery.”

The pope pointed to the resurrection of Jesus Christ as “the strength that supports us in this challenge even when the darkness of evil obscures the heart and the mind.”

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

The scene outside a Catholic church in Istanbul, Turkey, where a reported armed attack took place on Jan. 28, 2024. / Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/EWTN

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 26, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

A Christian advocacy group’s report details “legal, institutional, and social hostility” toward Turkish Christians as Pope Leo XIV begins his six-day visit to Turkey and Lebanon Thursday.

The report from The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), titled “The Persecution of Christians in Turkey,” explores government interference against clergy and Christian entities, restrictions on foreign Christians who visit the country, and widespread social animosity toward the faithful, which sometimes includes direct violence.

“Communities that were once integral to the cultural, religious, and historical fabric of Anatolia have been reduced to a fragile remnant,” the authors state.

“Their disappearance is not the product of a single event but the cumulative result of restrictive legislation, administrative obstruction, property confiscations, denial of legal personality, and — more recently — arbitrary expulsions of clergy, missionaries, and converts,” they add.

Modern-day Turkey, which was governed by Christians prior to the Ottoman Empire invasions in late Middle Ages, is still home to about 257,000 Christians. In 1915, Christians still accounted for about 20% of the Turkish population, but the number has dwindled over the past century and they now account for less than 0.3% of the population.

Persecution of Christians

The report says hostility toward Christians is kept alive through environmental factors, such as Turkey’s refusal to recognize its past by continuing to deny the genocide of Armenians and other Christians during World War I. 

At that time, about 1.5 million Armenians and 500,000 other Christians were forcibly deported or massacred, and Turkey’s criminalization of “insulting the Turkish nation” and “insulting Turkishness” is often enforced to quell speech about the historical events, according to the report.

It notes that politicians and state-run media frequently scapegoat Christians for societal issues and depict them as an external and internal threat, with one example being President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referring to survivors of the genocide as “terrorists escaped from the sword” and another being the state-run Yeni Akit allegedly editing Wikipedia to smear Christians, Jews, and other groups.

In some cases, this hostility yields violence, including a 2024 terrorist attack on a Catholic church that killed one person, and other acts of violence and vandalism.

The report notes that Turkey signed the Treaty of Lausanne after the Armenian genocide, which granted people who believe some non-majority faiths full legal recognition and property rights.

Yet, a narrow interpretation of the treaty ensures “a national narrative that presents Sunni Islam as the primary marker of Turkish identity,” the report says. The treaty also fails to recognize all Christians, only giving a specific reference to Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic Christians, and Jews, but not Catholics or Protestants, according to the report.

It states that Sunni Islam is often tied to Turkish identity in public education and the process to be exempt from compulsory Islamic education is burdensome for Christians not covered under the treaty.

No church holds legal personality as a religious institution, which means patriarchates, dioceses, and churches cannot “own property in their own name, initiate legal proceedings, employ staff, open bank accounts, or formally interact with public authorities,” the report states.

The government also interferes with religious leadership, prohibiting non-Turkish citizens from being elected as Ecumenical Patriarch, sitting on the Holy Synod, or participating in patriarchal elections in the Greek Orthodox Church. The government also regulates elections for leadership in the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Turkey shut down the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary in 1971 and — despite promises to let it reopen — keeps it shut down, according to the report.

The report also says Turkey imposes legal constraints and administrative obstruction on Christian “community foundations,” which operate churches, schools, hospitals, and charitable institutions.

This includes blocking board elections and failing to enforce court orders. One of the more egregious violations is imposing “mazbut” trusteeship, which ends Christian institutions' legal recognition and grants control to the government, which essentially confiscates property, the report said.

“These practices reveal a structural system designed to undermine the autonomy, continuity, and survival of Christian communities in Turkey,” the report states.

According to the report, foreign Protestant pastors are often expelled from seminaries. More broadly, it states that foreign missionaries and converts are often targeted as “national security” threats and frequently expelled from Turkey. 

The authors encouraged Turkey to grant full legal recognition to all churches, halt interference in Christian organizations, protect places of worship, end arbitrary expulsions, and return property that has been confiscated.

Catholic Charities D.C. provides Thanksgiving meals to guests on Nov. 25, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Ralph Alswang for Catholic Charities D.C.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 26, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

Catholic Charities D.C. in the Archdiocese of Washington teamed up with a metropolitan utility company this week to offer a Thanksgiving meal and winter supplies to low-income families and people experiencing homelessness.

The Nov. 25 dinner, held at Pepco Co.’s  Edison Place Gallery, was provided through the St. Maria’s Meal Program. Numerous Catholic Charities affiliates in other parts of the country — including New York, Boston, and Cleveland — held similar events to provide food or resources to the needy during the Thanksgiving season.

More than 300 guests came to the Washington, D.C. dinner, which included turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, collard greens, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and sweet potato pie. Guests were also offered winter coats, hats, socks, and toiletry kits.

“Lord, please remind all of us here that we are all children of God and all have unique value, potential to soar, and immeasurable worth and dignity in your eyes — the only eyes that matter,” Jim Malloy, president and CEO of Catholic Charities D.C., said in a prayer before the dinner.

“Help us to live out your Gospel, and as you told us in John 9, to do the works of your Father while it is day,” he prayed.

The annual Thanksgiving dinner has been held for about 12 years. According to the most recent numbers from the federal government, the homelessness rate in the country is at an all-time high.

Marie Maroun, a spokesperson for Catholic Charities D.C. and one of the 60 volunteers at the dinner, told CNA the event ensures a Thanksgiving meal for those experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, and “provides them with the dignity and respect that they definitely deserve.”

Catholic Charities D.C. also provides food through food pantries and offers hot meals to those in need on Wednesdays.

Eugene Brown, one of the guests, told CNA the meal was “excellent,” and said the regular meals are “helping in keeping our heads above water.”

“God will bless the needy and not the greedy,” said Brown, who is Catholic.

Malloy told CNA that providing hot meals helps “remind ourselves what’s important and who’s important.” He thanked the volunteers, including many of the high school students, who he said “find something very fundamental about their faith here.”

“This is faith in action for them,” he said. 

Malloy said that when some in society treat those in need as though they are “expendable,” events like this “refute that.”

“They’re created in the image of God,” he said. “They count.” 

The most recent homelessness report from the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) was published in December 2024 and the next annual report is expected in December 2025.

In the 2024 report, HUD estimated that nearly 772,000 people were experiencing homelessness at the beginning of that year. The rate of homelessness increased by about 18% — representing 118,376 more people — in January 2024 when compared to January 2023.

The 2024 report showed the highest number of people experiencing homelessness since HUD began collecting the data in 2007.

Although more recent national numbers are not available, a report from the Washington D.C. Department of Human Services found a 9% decrease in the city’s homelessness from January 2024 to January 2025. However, it found there was only a 1% decrease in the city’s broader metropolitan area, with some nearby Virginia and Maryland counties seeing an uptick.

President Donald Trump ordered removal of homeless encampments in Washington, D.C. in August 2025 and deployed National Guard troops to clear public spaces.