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Muslims set fire to Catholic Christmas tree in the West Bank

The message from the Christian community was unequivocal. Even if the tree were burned a hundred times, they said, it would be rebuilt a thousand times more

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Leo XIV, Putin’s rejection of the Christmas truce, and disappointment with the Democratic governor of Illinois

Speaking on the evening of December 23, Leo XIV returned repeatedly to a single theme that framed his reflections: the meaning of life, human dignity, and the possibility of peace—even if only for a day.

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Germans trust Leo XIV more than Islam: new survey results released

Data released from a representative Forsa poll indicate that 28 percent of Germans now say they place high or very high trust in the Pope

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Priestly vocations in England and Wales: data pointing to either stabilization or decline

In 2024, the Catholic dioceses of England and Wales, together with the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, recorded 22 priestly ordinations, two more than the previous year

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Trump administration bans “gender reassignment” surgeries on minors

At the center of the initiative is a shift in how federal health programs will define acceptable standards of care. HHS intends to make participation in Medicare and Medicaid contingent on hospitals refraining from providing sex-change-related treatments to minors. In practical terms, this condition would affect the vast majority of U.S. hospitals, given their dependence on public funding streams

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To find the Savior, one must not gaze upward, but look below: the Pope’s homily at Christmas Eve Mass

Homily of the Holy Father at the Holy Mass on Christmas Eve and the Nativity of the Lord

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Nigeria: A decade of terror for Catholic priests

New data highlights scale of priest kidnappings amid Nigeria’s security crisis

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How do music and sound generate experiences of wonder? Stanford researchers launch investigation into sound and transcendence

At the heart of the project lies a provocative hypothesis. Many sacred sites, the researchers argue, produce acoustic effects that disrupt ordinary sensory expectations. Echoes blur spatial boundaries, sound sources become difficult to locate, distances seem to stretch or collapse. What the eyes perceive as finite and material, the ears experience as expansive and elusive

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The world’s oldest church has been found: where is it, what is it like, and how can you visit it?

Discovered in 1998 by a team led by American archaeologist Thomas Parker, the church was constructed between approximately 293 and 303, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Unlike earlier Christian meeting places—often adapted private homes known as domus ecclesiae—the Aqaba structure was built from the ground up as a church

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Freedom Before Christmas: Nigeria’s St. Mary’s Abductions End, but the Questions Remain

For the Catholic Church in Nigeria, the episode reopens painful questions about the safety of faith-based institutions and the pastoral care of traumatized communities. Bishops and clergy have repeatedly warned that schools and parishes are increasingly vulnerable, even as they continue to serve populations with few alternatives

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