American adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained steady, a new Pew Research Center report finds.  / Credit: ChoeWatt/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

The number of American adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained steady, a new Pew Research Center report finds. 

Surveys conducted since 2020 have generally found that about 70% of U.S. adults identify with a religion. The numbers have slightly fluctuated, but there has been no clear rise or fall in religious affiliation over the five-year period.

A Pew Research Center study, Religion Holds Steady in America, summarizes the latest trends in American religion and examines religion among young adults. The report is based on Pew’s National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS), which has annually surveyed a random sample of U.S. adults since 2020. It also draws from the U.S. Religious Landscape Study (RLS), which surveyed 36,908 adults from July 17, 2023 to March 4, 2024.

The report also uses data from the General Social Survey and the American Time Use Survey.

The research revealed that after Pew found a decline in Christianity in the country from 2007 to 2020, the decline has halted and there is a stable presence of Christianty and religion in the nation. 

Young women’s religiosity shifts

While the polling shows no clear evidence of a religious increase among young adults, it did find that young men are now almost as religious as women in the same age group. The finding differs from past studies which found that young women tended to be more religious than young men. 

This shift was found to be due to a decline in religiousness among American women, rather than an increase in the religiousness of men. In contrast to the young adults, the data revealed older women are more religious than older men. 

Overall, young men and young women surveyed in 2023 and 2024 are less religious than those questioned in 2007 and 2014 studies.

In 2007, 54% of women and 40% of men ages 18 to 24 reported they prayed daily. Data from 2023-2024 revealed only 30% of women and 26% of men in the same age group said they pray daily, indicating the gender gap among religious men and women is closing. 

Young adults remain less religious than older Americans

The data found no evidence that any age group has become substantially more or less religious since 2020. In the 2025 NPORS, 83% of adults 71 or older identified with a religion, similarly to the 84% in 2020. 

Among the youngest group of adults ages 18 to 30, 55% identify with a religion in 2025. This data is similar to the 57% who reported the same in 2020.

While there was not a large change in the number of adults who practice religion, older generations continue to be more religious than younger ones. Adults aged 71 or older tend to pray more than those ages 18 to 30, with 59% of older adults reporting they pray daily compared to 32% of young adults. 

There were also discrepancies among age groups based on how often individuals attend religious services. Adults 71 and older attend the most with 43% reporting they attend at least monthly. Adults 31 to 40 were found to attend the least with 29% reporting they go monthly. 

The data shows that today’s adults between the ages of roughly 18 and 22 are at least as religious as the age group slightly older than them who are in their mid to late 20s. Some aspects revealed that the younger U.S. adults may be more religious than the age group slightly older than them. 

The 2023–24 RLS found 30% of adults born between 2003 and 2006 said they attended religious services at least once a month, which is higher than the 24% of people born between 1995 and 2002. 

Pope Leo XIV addresses the press at Castel Gandolfo Dec. 9, 2025. / Credit: Zofia Czubak/CNA

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said President Donald Trump’s plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine threatens to break apart the alliance between Europe and the United States.

Asked by reporters Dec. 9 to comment on the initiative's fairness, the pope said, “I would rather not comment on that. I haven’t read the whole thing. Unfortunately, some parts I have seen make a huge change in what was for many years a true alliance between the EU and U.S.”

The pope commented to reporters after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Castel Gandolfo. 

Pope Leo said, “The remarks [by Trump] that were made about Europe recently are, I think, trying to break apart what I think is an important alliance today and in the future. It’s a program that President Trump and his advisers put together, and he’s the president of the U.S. And he has a right to do that.”

The Holy Father called for continued dialogue to seek a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine during the meeting with Zelensky on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.

The pair also discussed the question of prisoners of war and the urgent need to assure the return of Ukrainian children to their families. According to the Vatican, the Holy See will continue its efforts to do that — including "through the efforts of the Special envoy of the Holy Father for humanitarian issues in Ukraine," Cardinal Matteo Zuppi said, and to ensure the release of prisoners of war. 

Responding to a question from EWTN News, the pope said that progress on the repatriation of abducted Ukrainian children was “very slow, unfortunately,” but he declined to comment further on the matter.

The Vatican has mediated between Kyiv and Moscow on the issue of the children’s return. Zelensky wrote on X, "I informed the Pope about diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace. We discussed further actions and the Vatican’s mediation aimed at returning our children abducted by Russia," Zelensky wrote on X.

In a statement published by the Vatican after the meeting at Castel Gandolfo, the pope “reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace.”

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

Valentina Di Donato contributed to this story.

Flowers are seen on Sept. 3, 2025, outside the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where a shooter killed two children and injured 21 other people on Aug. 27, 2025. / Credit: Alex Wroblewski/Getty

CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 15:10 pm (CNA).

Three months after a deadly shooting in Minneapolis that left two students dead and injured 18 others as well as three adults, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, along with Auxiliary Bishops Kevin Kenney and Michael Izen, said a special Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church on Dec. 6 that included a rite of reparation to restore the church for worship.

On Aug. 27, Robin Westman — who was born “Robert” and identified as a woman – shot through the stained glass windows of the church during a morning Mass filled with Annunciation school students in first through eighth grade, killing Fletcher Merkel, eight, and Harper Moyski, 10. 

Westman, who had posted anti-Christian and explicit messages on social media before the attack, then killed himself at the scene.

"Our Blessed Mother lived this faith and cooperated with God's plan for her life, despite the difficulties it would occasion,” Hebda prayed outside the building just before the Dec. 6 Mass. “We profess that our souls now will rejoin hers in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord in this church, dedicated in her honor, and now reclaimed for the glory of God."

"My brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead proclaims that evil and death do not have the final word; God does.”

Hebda, followed by Kenney, Izen, and the rest of the congregation, entered the church chanting the Litany of the Saints.

The altar was bare when the Mass began. Part of the rite of reparation included the prayers: "restore the sanctity of this church, dedicated to your glory and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

Other prayers included petitions to “bring healing to those who were injured” and "bring healing and comfort to those suffering the harm done to their children."

Annunciation pastor Father Dennis Zehren, along with the archbishop, sprinkled holy water throughout the church, on the altar, and on those gathered. The media was not allowed into the church during the Mass.

During his homily Hebda recalled the anointing of Annunciation Church at its establishment 40 years earlier, pointing out that inscribed outside the church are the words: “‘This is the house of God and the gate of heaven.’”

In notes of his homily provided to the media, Hebda recalled what occurred at the church on Aug. 27: “This safe haven, this place of refuge, this foretaste of the order of the heavenly kingdom, was disturbed by a chaos that no one could have imagined. It's for that chaos that we've come together to engage in this act of penance and reparation this day.”

"This community will never forget what happened that day,” he wrote, “and will forever remember with great love Harper and Fletcher, whose beautiful and inspiring lives were cut short as they and fellow students gathered for the Eucharist.”

He continued: "I've never seen such an outpouring of love and mutual support as I have witnessed here these last three months. The sorrow understandably lingers, but there's a Christ-centered resilience here that is remarkable — and praise God — it's been contagious.

"Today we gather penitentially for this rite of reparation in the hope of restoring the order that Christ desires for his Church, his family. We cannot undo the tragic loss of Fletcher and Harper, but we can communicate to the world that we recognize that the power of God is far in excess of any evil; that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.”

"We cannot let Satan win, and we, by God's grace, reclaim this space today for Christ and his Church,” the prelate said. 

The exterior of St. Casimir church in Buffalo, New York / Michael Shriver/buffalophotoblog.com

CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Clergy has declared that several parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York can remain open after Bishop Michael Fisher ordered their closure amid a diocesan-wide renewal plan. 

Save Our Buffalo Churches, which has advocated against church closure proposals in the diocese’s “Road to Renewal” plan, said in a Dec. 8 Facebook post that the Vatican has revoked the closures of three parishes since November, with a fourth parish receiving a temporary reprieve from the diocese itself. 

The closures and mergers of Our Lady of Peace Parish and Holy Apostles Parish have been revoked by the dicastery, the group said. 

As well, the Vatican said it will also examine the “asset appropriation” levied by the diocese against those parishes. The group confirmed to CNA on Dec. 9 that those appropriations, if collected, are meant to help fund the diocese’s ongoing bankruptcy settlement for clergy abuse victims.  

The bishop also revoked the merger of Our Lady of Bistrica Parish with other parishes. The diocese had discovered a “procedural error” in the merger decree that invalidated the directive, leading the bishop to revoke the merger directly.  The diocese has reportedly “promised to issue a new merger decree” as a result, with the parish “ready for that challenge.” 

The favorable rulings come from the Vatican after more than a year of effort from parish advocates to halt the closures and mergers. The dispute reached the New York Supreme Court earlier this year, which in July issued a halt on the parish payments into the diocese’s abuse settlement fund amid parishioner objections. 

The high court in September ultimately allowed the payments to proceed, pointing to a long-standing prohibition against “court involvement in the governance and administration of a hierarchical church.”

The Vatican’s orders follow a similar order from the Holy See in November which allowed Saint Bernadette Church in Orchard Park to remain open. The diocese had planned to merge that parish with Saints Peter & Paul Church in Hamburg. 

The announcement follows Fisher’s decision in November to revoke a 2024 decree forbidding parishioners from using parishes as planning spaces to work against the proposed mergers. 

Fisher said he was ending that policy after meetings with Vatican officials in October. “Based on our conversation, it is clear to me now that this policy is too restrictive of the rights of the faithful,” the bishop said of those talks at the Holy See. 

In November, Save Our Buffalo Parishes joined several other groups to petition the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to donate financial resources to their preservation efforts. 

Group leader Mary Pruski told CNA that the effort would “bring much peace and healing across [New York state].”

Advocates in dioceses around the country have petitioned, sometimes successfully, against church closures in recent years, including in Maryland, Missouri and Wisconsin. 

Bishops have instituted such closures amid sharply declining parish attendance and skyrocketing maintenance costs at aging buildings. 

The J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters building in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 11:45 am (CNA).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent who oversaw the Virginia office responsible for a highly controversial investigation into local Catholics will lead the state’s safety office under its new Democratic governor. 

Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger nominated Stanley Meador as the next Virginia secretary for public safety and homeland security, according to a December announcement.

Meador has served in several roles in the FBI, including in field offices in Seattle and Las Vegas, as well as at the bureau headquarters in Washington. 

In 2021 he became special agent in charge at the bureau’s Richmond, Virginia field office, where he served until June 2025. In 2023 that office issued a memo to agents launching an investigation into “radical traditionalist” Catholics and their possible ties to “the far-right white nationalist movement.” 

That memo touched off a years-long controversy over the FBI’s investigation into Catholics, including reports that at least one federal agent allegedly went undercover to investigate traditional Catholic communities. 

Multiple state attorneys general called for an investigation into the FBI over the memo, while Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout described the investigation as a “threat to religious liberty.” White nationalism directly conflicts with Catholic principles of human dignity, solidarity, justice, and the common good. 

Spanberger in announcing the nomination said Meador possesses the “expertise necessary to protect our citizens” and claimed he will “make sure Virginia is a place where every Virginian can safely thrive.”

CatholicVote National Political Director Logan Church, meanwhile, described Spanberger’s nomination of Meador as an “endorsement” of the FBI’s controversial investigation. 

“It tells every Catholic in America that violating our civil liberties isn’t a problem, it’s a pathway to advancement,” Church said in a statement, describing the investigation itself as a “disgraceful operation.” 

The FBI retracted the memo in 2023 after it became public knowledge, though years of investigations have followed the revelation. 

In September 2025 FBI Director Kash Patel said in a U.S. Senate hearing that there had been “terminations” and “resignations” of employees related to the investigation. 

The House Judiciary Committee in July, meanwhile, revealed that the Richmond FBI office spied on a priest because he refused to discuss private conversations he had with a parishioner who was converting to Catholicism.

In 2024 the Department of Justice concluded that the bureau “failed to adhere to FBI standards” when launching the investigation but allegedly showed no evidence of “malicious intent” in doing so.

A Nativity display with anti-ICE messaging outside St. Susanna Church in Dedham, Massachusetts. / Credit: Matthew McDonald

Boston, Massachusetts, Dec 9, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

The pastor of a Catholic parish near Boston says an anti-immigration-enforcement display in its Nativity scene will stay up at least for the time being, and he is asking for a meeting with the archbishop.

The announcement Monday night — more than three days after the Archdiocese of Boston said the display should be removed — leaves the parish and Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston at an impasse.

“We are waiting for an opportunity of dialogue and clarity with [Arch]bishop Henning before reaching any final decisions,” Father Stephen Josoma said, according to a video of a press conference published by MassLive.com.

The display, put up Nov. 29 outside St. Susanna Church in Dedham, Massachusetts, includes a large sign saying “ICE Was Here” and another sign explaining that the absent figures of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are safe inside the church building. The display also includes a telephone number to report the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs agents to an organization that monitors them.

A spokesman for Archbishop Henning on Friday described the display as inappropriate and said it should be removed.

“The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging. The Church’s norms prohibit the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people. This includes images of the Christ Child in the manger, which are to be used solely to foster faith and devotion,” said Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, by email.

“Regarding the recent incident, St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church. The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose,” Donilon said Friday.

Father Josoma’s stance

Father Josoma said Monday he disagrees with the archdiocese’s characterization of the anti-ICE Nativity display.

“That some do not agree with our message does not render our display sacrilegious, or is the cause of any scandal to the faithful,” Father Josoma said during a press conference Monday night outside St. Susanna’s. “Any divisiveness is a reflection of our polarized society, much of which originates with the changing, unjust policies and laws of the current United States administration, not emanating from a Nativity display outside of a church in Dedham.”

Dedham is a town of 25,000 about 10 miles southwest of Boston.

Father Josoma did not respond to a request for comment from the Register. But he told his congregation at the end of Mass on Sunday morning that the archbishop had asked him to remove the anti-ICE display.

“It’s been a very unusual week to say the least. We did get a letter from the archbishop asking us to take the Nativity set down, or at least the signs down. Our parish council and Pax Christi group will be meeting after Mass today to discuss that, to pray about that, to discern our response to that,” Father Josoma said.

Later on Sunday, WCVB Channel 5 reported that Father Josoma said the parish council would meet Monday afternoon instead.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the previous archbishop of Boston, ignored politically charged messages in the St. Susanna’s Nativity scenes in previous years, including those highlighting gun violence (2017), immigration detention centers (2018), and climate change (2019).

The negative reaction to the anti-ICE display from Archbishop Henning, who took over as head of the Archdiocese of Boston in October 2024, was not expected, Father Josoma said.

“It kind of came as a surprise to us,” Father Josoma said.

Father Josoma said he sees the anti-ICE Nativity display at St. Susanna’s as in line with a special message on immigration enforcement that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued Nov. 12, in which the bishops said they are “disturbed” by what they called “a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” that they “are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants,” and that they “lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status.”

“The bishops’ message[s] on their own are totally in line with what we have done over the past week, this past Advent season. We’re a bit surprised at that,” Father Josoma said, referring to the archdiocese’s reaction.

Canon law perspective

A canon law expert contacted Monday said that while a pastor has ordinary authority over his parish, in certain circumstances a bishop can step in and issue orders.

“[In] this situation, the Archbishop of Boston is well within his obligation to prevent scandal in his diocese (canon 1311 §2) by demanding that the Nativity scene be altered or removed. The scene, in the archbishop’s opinion, is divisive and overtly political and falls under the prohibition against ‘the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people’,” said David Long, an assistant professor of canon law and dean of the School of Professional Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

“In his private letter, the archbishop warned the pastor of a possible canonical offense (canon 1339 §1) in displaying the Nativity scene in this manner. The pastor publicly acknowledged the letter and the warning. Therefore, if the pastor persists in the behavior or refuses to comply with the bishop’s directive, the archbishop may proceed to apply a number of penal remedies,” Long said.

As to the role of parish entities such as the parish council, Long said they don’t have authority in this situation.

“The pastor’s deferral to a parish council or a parish peace and justice commission to decide whether to change the Nativity scene is not appropriate. The pastor has been given a directive by the archbishop, and deferring to the parish council would grant the council authority it does not have, since a parish council (canon 536 §2) only has a consultative voice,” Long said.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

A view of St. Patrick’s Cathedral near Rockefeller Center in Manhattan on Feb. 2, 2023, in New York City. The cathedral was completed in 1878 the Gothic Revival style by architect James Renwick Jr. / Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of New York will pay out nearly a third of a billion dollars to victims of clergy sex abuse, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said this week, offering one of the biggest Church payouts in U.S. history in order to compensate for the “horror of abuse” by clergy there.  

Cardinal Dolan said the archdiocese will pay out “a total of more than $300 million” to abuse survivors as part of a “global settlement” with victims. 

The archdiocese has made “a series of very difficult financial decisions” to help fund the settlement, Cardinal Dolan said in the Dec. 8 statement, including staff layoffs and a 10% reduction in the archdiocese's operating budget. 

“We are also working to finalize the sale of significant real estate assets,” the prelate said. He pointed to the recent sale of the former archdiocesan headquarters in Manhattan, which was bought by a development group for about $100 million. 

The settlement comes a decade after the founding of the archdiocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, which seeks to “promote healing and bring closure” by offering compensation to clergy abuse victims.

Cardinal Dolan said the settlement came after talks with a third-party mediator who helped negotiate a “global settlement,” a process which allows for rapid resolution of cases while avoiding lengthy court proceedings. 

The archdiocese and lawyers are working with retired California Judge Daniel Buckley to help mediate the process. Buckley last year helped mediate the Los Angeles archdiocese’s own abuse settlement, one that saw a record $880 million agreement for abuse survivors. 

Cardinal Dolan said the archdiocese is seeking to ensure “the greatest possible compensation to victim-survivors” while still pursuing “vital ministries for the good of our parishes, families, and communities.”

The cardinal also said the archdiocese is still engaged in a legal conflict with its longtime insurer Chubb. In 2024 the archdiocese launched a lawsuit against Chubb, claiming the corporation was “attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation” to pay out financial claims to sex abuse victims.

"Despite accepting millions in premiums from the archdiocese, Chubb has steadfastly refused to honor the policies it issued,” Dolan said on Dec. 8. 

Cardinal Dolan urged the faithful to pray “for the victim-survivors, their families, and all who have experienced the horror of abuse.”

The New York payout comes at the same time that a federal judge in Louisiana approved a $230 million settlement to be paid to abuse victims by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The archdiocese had agreed to the payout in October.

The Los Angeles archdiocese’s near-$1 billion payout still stands as the U.S. record for an abuse settlement by an archdiocese or diocese. The official record for a diocesan settlement is $323 million, by the New York Diocese of Rockville Centre, though it’s unclear if the New York archdiocese’s payment will ultimately top that. 

Earlier this year the Diocese of Rochetser, New York agreed to a near-$250 million settlement for abuse victims. The Diocese of Syracuse this year also agreed to a $176 million settlement.

Claire Lai, daughter of imprisoned Hong Kong activist and Catholic Jimmy Lai, speaks with EWTN News President Montse Alvarado on “EWTN News Nightly” on Dec. 8, 2025. / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 9, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Daughter of imprisoned Catholic activist Jimmy Lai spoke out for the first time ahead of her father’s 78th birthday. 

“As a daughter, every day I wake up and I hope that today is the day we get my dad home ... the day we get to go to Mass together, or to eat dinner around the table, things that years ago I almost took for granted,” Claire Lai said in an interview with EWTN News.

Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy entrepreneur and human rights activist, was arrested in 2020 in Hong Kong. He underwent a trial that lasted nearly two years for allegations of colluding with foreign forces under a national security law put in effect by the communist-controlled Chinese government.

The trial ended in August, and Lai continues to wait for the verdict in prison where he faces inhumane living conditions, deteriorating health, and is denied the Eucharist, his daughter said. 

In an interview with Montse Alvarado, president and COO of EWTN News, Lai’s daughter Claire said: “We’re still waiting for a verdict, five years after he was charged. He is turning 78. We have waited a very, very long time for his cases to be resolved. We do not believe that they will be through the domestic system. Our only hope is outside, and that’s why I’m here now.”

Dec. 8 was Jimmy Lai’s 78th birthday, which falls on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. His daughter highlighted Lai’s deep devotion to the Blessed Mother. 

She said her family has tried to send him a rosary in prison, but “each attempt failed.” She said he fell down once in the shower, and “because of his waist pain he wasn’t able to get up.”

“Even some of the guards came over and tried to help him … but he couldn’t get up. So he pretended as though he had a rosary in his hand and prayed to the Blessed Mother. Then he was able to get up without pain,” Claire Lai said.

“When you’re a daughter … and you hear stories like that, you wish you could yourself physically pull him up when he is in pain like that. But you find such great comfort in the fact that Our Lady is protecting him,” she said.

Conversion to the faith

Lai said her father’s conversion to Catholicism has been a stable presence during his time in prison. 

“My father had quite an unconventional childhood. He came to Hong Kong when he was 12. He had nothing to his name, nothing in his pockets. But he was full of optimism and he had a yearning for freedom,” she said.

“It was only later on that he understood that there was something, a higher force, guiding him all along, which was why he was able to go from child laborer to a successful entrepreneur and do so almost without fear. It was later on that he understood that to be God,” she said.

Jimmy Lai converted the year of the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China when “people were filled with doubt and with a certain amount of fear,” his daughter said. “As Our Lady has taught us, there is nothing that conquers doubt and fear except for the love of God. And that was a time when he was ready to receive it.”

“My father converted one year after I was born. Really, the only memories I have are of growing up in a very loving Catholic family,” she said.

Legal saga

Claire Lai studied law and has been involved with her father’s case and lengthy trial. “There’s an equal amount of outrage, but also it’s a privilege to be able to be there and witness it as closely as I have,” she said. 

“As someone who grew up admiring the Hong Kong legal system … it has been heartbreaking to see the rule of law break down, but even more so to see my father and his case is at the helm of it.”

The bench was “not neutral in any sense of the word,” she said. “They just grilled him repeatedly. There were gag orders that were imposed when the evidence just did not suit the narrative ... it was just so deeply unfair.”

The trial had unexplained delays that were “clearly meant so that people would forget about my father and so that it would crush his spirit,” she said. But “with the good Lord as his guide, his spirit remained just as strong.”

Prison conditions 

Lai has been in prison for five years, but “his incarceration has just deepened his faith,” his daughter said. 

“I think there isn’t anything quite as much as suffering that opens your heart to God’s love. We are so grateful that Our Lord has accompanied my father. He wakes up around midnight every night to pray,” she said.

“Before the crack of dawn, he would read the Gospel,” Lai said. “At first, he would ask the guards if they could turn on the light so that he could read … For about the first six months, they said ‘yes.’ Afterwards, they always said ‘no.’”

“The conditions he’s kept in have just gotten worse over time. They aren’t a natural byproduct of prison. In the prison cell, there is a window that leads outside that should give access to sunlight. His is deliberately blocked so that he doesn’t have access,” she said.

“He’s been denied holy Communion for over two years and got it only very, very intermittently this year,” she said. “It’s something that costs them nothing … for him to get. It costs them nothing for him to get the rosary, and it costs them nothing to turn on the light so that he can read the Gospel.”

Kept in solitary confinement, he faces extreme heat conditions in his small cell. “In summer, the heat can get up to … 111 degrees Fahrenheit,” she said. “To say that it’s sweltering is a massive understatement.”

“He gets heat rushes all over his body, and they last until the middle of autumn. It is outrageous, and it is torturous,” she said.

“We have typhoon seasons in Hong Kong … and the cells get wet. Almost everything in there gets wet. Once that happened, the first thing he checked was his Bible, and it was the one thing that remained dry. We’re very grateful that Our Lord and Our Lady continue to watch over him,” she said.

Lai’s health has declined rapidly while behind bars. 

“In less than a year, he lost 10 kilos … after already having lost a significant amount of weight the last few years. His nails are rotting … He has infections that last for months in spite of antibiotics. And his limbs get swollen, very red, and they’re agonizingly painful,” she said.

“My dad is not someone who complains. He doesn’t even make faces. You know that when he does, it’s very painful,” she said. “There are times when even from a distance, you can tell that he’s pale and he’s shivering.”

“Then there’s the less visible signs,” she said. “He’s diabetic, and he’s had heart issues. He had a perfectly healthy heart before he went to prison.” He has said “that every few days he would have heart palpitations and they would be disabling,” his daughter said.

Call for international involvement 

Jimmy Lai is a British citizen and his daughter said that any communication between Britain and the Chinese government should include discussion of her father. 

“He is in prison for basically standing in defense for the freedoms he first came to know as a child in Hong Kong when it was still a British embassy and for hoping that they would keep the promise made during the sign of the British Joint Declaration,” she said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to do “everything” possible to “save” Lai. A White House official told EWTN News in October that Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about his imprisonment. 

“We are so extremely grateful to President Trump and his administration,” Claire Lai said. “They have a long, proven record of freeing the unjustly detained, and we hope that my father will follow soon.”

“We are also very, very grateful for members of the public. My father is sustained by your prayers,” she said.

She shared that Pope Leo XIV is also praying for her father during this time. In October, Lai’s wife, Teresa Lai, and his daughter met Pope Leo after a general audience. “It was such a privilege and a blessing to have an audience with our Holy Father,” Claire Lai said. 

Hope for a release 

“The government has no case,” she said. “All they’ve proven is that my father is a good man, a man who loves God, a man who loves freedom, who loves truth, and loves his family.”

If she could speak with the Chinese government, Lai said she would say to “do the only just and … only honorable thing, which is to release a 78-year-old man, my father, Jimmy Lai, against whom no case has been made.”

“Don’t let him die a martyr in these conditions, in this health. It is a stain on your history that you will never be able to wipe off,” she said.

She said she does “worry” that her father could die in prison, but she is “hopeful.”

When her father “reflected on his earlier years, he said that even before he converted and before he opened his heart to the love of God, he was always guided by him — even before he knew it,” she said. “I think that’s how he wants to be remembered, as a faithful servant of Our Lord.”

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 8, 2025 / 18:09 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump honored the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, which appears to be the first time an American president formally recognized the Catholic holy day.

The presidential statement recognized the role Mary played in the salvation of humanity and the importance she has in American history. The statement does, however, contain one theological error about the Incarnation. It says God became man when Christ was born, although Catholic doctrine recognizes God becoming man at the Incarnation: when Mary conceived him.

“Today, I recognize every American celebrating Dec. 8 as a holy day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible,” the statement said. Trump, who is not Catholic and describes himself as a "non-denominational Christian," has cultivated strong bonds with a broad range of Christians and has regularly referenced religious holidays and symbols in ways that resonate with supporters.

CNA could not find similar proclamations on the Immaculate Conception from other presidents, including none from the only two Catholic presidents: John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden. Other presidents have spoken about Mary and the Immaculate Conception, sometimes in messages relating to Christmas or other topics, but not in a formal recognition of this feast.

“On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Catholics celebrate what they believe to be Mary’s freedom from original sin as the mother of God,” the statement read.

The feast day celebrates the miracle in which Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. Every person — with the exception of Mary and Jesus Christ — receives the hereditary stain of original sin, which was brought onto humanity through the first sin of Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God by eating fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Mary’s importance to humanity and the United States

The presidential statement said Mary’s agreement at the Annunciation to conceive and bear the child Christ was “one of the most profound and consequential acts of history,” and Mary “heroically accepted God’s will with trust and humility.” 

It cites Luke 1:38: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” 

“Mary’s decision forever altered the course of humanity,” the statement read, adding that Christ “would go on to offer his life on the Cross for the redemption of sins and the salvation of the world.”

President Trump's statement also describes the annunciation by the archangel Gabriel, who calls the Blessed Mother “favored one” and tells her “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.”

Later in the document, the presidential message says “we remember the sacred words that have brought aid, comfort, and support to generations of American believers in times of need,” and includes the text of the Hail Mary.

Trump's statement also acknowledges the “distinct role” Mary has played “in our great American story.”

The president's statement also specifically references Bishop John Carroll’s consecration of the United States to the Blessed Mother. His cousin, Charles Carroll, was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. In addition, the statement references the annual Mass of Thanksgiving in New Orleans on Jan. 8, in which Catholics celebrate Mary’s perceived assistance to U.S. troops under the command of General Andrew Jackson in winning the Battle of New Orleans.

The message notes that “American legends” including St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, and Venerable Fulton Sheen “held a deep devotion to Mary” and that many American churches, hospitals, universities, and schools bear her name. It adds that many Americans will also celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.

“As we approach 250 years of glorious American independence, we acknowledge and give thanks, with total gratitude, for Mary’s role in advancing peace, hope, and love in America and beyond our shores,” the presidential message reads.

The presidential message also recognizes Pope Benedict XV dedicating a statue of Mary, Queen of Peace, to encourage Christians “to look to her example of peace by praying for a stop to the horrific slaughter” occurring in World War I, which then ended just a few months later.

“Today, we look to Mary once again for inspiration and encouragement as we pray for an end to war and for a new and lasting era of peace, prosperity, and harmony in Europe and throughout the world,” Trump’s statement added.

Catholics react to Trump’s message

Chad Pecknold, a political science professor at The Catholic University of America, said he welcomed the president’s recognition of the feast day.

“The more America publicly honors Christian feast days such as Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter, and the more we remember our greatest saints, as well as our national heroes, the better oriented our nation will be to God,” he said. “This is the spiritual key to raising up the Res Americana for the next 250 years.”

Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), called the presidential message “a jaw-droppingly historic event.” For a president to celebrate Mary as “full of grace” and celebrate “the centrality of the Incarnation,” she said “goes beyond anything that Americans have ever heard in presidential public speeches.”

“This pronouncement, along with the first American pope in world history, marks a watershed moment in American cultural history,” Hanssen said. 

Caleb Henry, a political science professor at Franciscan University, told CNA Trump’s message appears to be an extension of the president’s America Prays campaign, which asks Americans to pray for the country ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next year.

Henry said the initiative seeks to “reconnect America’s people of faith with ... the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” He said the Immaculate Conception statement appears to be “a message to America’s Catholic faithful,” that the country’s history “while complicated, is rooted in these truths of natural law, laws of nature, and of nature’s God.”

“We have a Marian tradition here in our country as well,” he said. 

The statement comes as the nation's Catholic bishops have welcomed some of Trump’s policies, such as regarding gender ideology. Bishops also have expressed dismay about indiscriminate immigration enforcement and a plan to expand in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a unified special pastoral message against “indiscriminate mass deportations” on Nov. 12.

Henry said a message like the one issued on the Immaculate Conception is “a typical Trump move” by “ignoring all existing hierarchies and going straight to the people.”

Theological error in the message

The statement contains a theological error. After discussing the Annunciation, the message states “nine months later, God became man when Mary gave birth to a son, Jesus.”

Christ became man at the moment of the Incarnation, when Mary conceived him, not when he was born. 

Father Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, told CNA that although early councils clarified this teaching, the misunderstanding “endures today.” He said: “Even among Christians, sadly. It remains a favorite of poets.” 

He noted that even in “Silent Night,” the verse that says “Jesus, Lord, at thy birth” falls into this error because: “Jesus is Lord before his birth. He is Lord at his conception.”

“Wherever it appears, the error may be pious and well-intentioned but it remains theologically inaccurate,” Guilbeau said.

The Blessed Mother and the Child Jesus. / Credit: Zwiebackesser/Shutterstock

National Catholic Register, Dec 8, 2025 / 16:58 pm (CNA).

One of the Catholic Church’s foremost associations of Mariologists has issued a strongly critical response to Mater Populi Fidelis, a recently published Vatican doctrinal note that has been criticized for its diminution of some long-established devotional Marian titles.

In a 23-page document published Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the International Marian Association Theological Commission (IMATC) points to various elements of Mater Populi Fidelis (“The Mother of the Faithful People of God”) that it calls erroneous, “unfortunate,” and says are in need of “substantial clarification and modification.” 

They describe a significant element of the document as resembling Protestant rather than Catholic theology and urge, “in a spirit of true synodal dialogue,” for Mater Populi Fidelis to be reevaluated.

Published on Nov. 4 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Mater Populi Fidelis teaches that Mary’s unique cooperation in salvation must always be understood as entirely dependent on, and subordinate to, Christ’s one mediation and universal redemptive sacrifice, rejecting any formulations that would blur this asymmetry.

The doctrinal note reaffirms approved Marian titles such as Mother of God and Mother of the Church but judges the titles “Co‑Redemptrix” and certain uses of “Mediatrix of All Graces” pastorally and theologically ambiguous, discouraging their use in official teaching or liturgy, while not denying the truths they seek to express. 

In Catholic theology, the title “Co‑Redemptrix” expresses Mary’s unique and entirely subordinate cooperation in Christ’s one redemptive work, above all through her fiat at the Incarnation and her union with his sacrifice, without adding a second redeemer alongside him. The title “Mediatrix of All Graces” signifies that every grace won by Christ the sole mediator is distributed by God through Mary’s maternal intercession, so that she participates as a secondary, dependent channel in the communication of Christ’s grace to humanity. 

The 2010 edition of the New Catholic Encyclopedia states that the title Co-Redemptrix first appeared in Catholic literature toward the end of the 14th century and that “Catholics no longer question its legitimacy” as the title has been used at various times in the intervening centuries, including by the Holy See in the 20th century. The encyclopedia says the genesis of the title Mediatrix of All Graces is “rather obscure” but dates back to eighth-century saints and “was applied to Our Lady with ever-increasing frequency until it became generally accepted in the 17th century.” 

The DDF’s diminution of the titles has drawn considerable criticism from Mariologists concerned that it adopts a minimalist view of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in salvation. The concern is that it could lessen popular devotion to her and risks ending new Marian dogmas related to these titles after decades of Mariological work. Still, others have praised it as a clarifying and ecumenically unifying move, re-centering Marian language clearly on Christ and discouraging titles they believe can be easily misunderstood. 

The International Marian Association comprises theologians, bishops, clergy, religious, and lay leaders who seek to promote full Marian truth and devotion throughout the world.

The association’s theological commission comprises cardinals, bishops, and over 40 internationally respected theologians and Mariologists such as U.S. scholars Scott Hahn, Mark Miravalle, and Michael Sirilla.

It begins by praising some of the positive aspects of the DDF document. They like its strong emphasis in affirming Christ as the sole divine redeemer, important scriptural references to Mary’s cooperation in salvation history, and that it “affirms in general the cooperation of the faithful in the saving work of Christ,” and refers to “the singular and distinct cooperation of Mary.”

But the authors, recalling their canonical right to express their concerns to pastors, soon list a plethora of criticisms, noting from the outset that although an expression of the ordinary magisterium, the doctrinal note is on a “lower level” than direct pronouncements from the pope. 

Co-Redemptrix title 

On the title Co-Redemptrix, the theologians push back against the note’s warning that it is “always inappropriate” — or, according to some translations, “always inopportune” — to use the title to define Mary’s cooperation. The DDF note says that the title “risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific mediation” and can therefore cause confusion. 

The IMATC counters that statement stating that if the title Co-Redemptrix is always inappropriate or inopportune to use, “then the popes who approved or used the title were acting in an inappropriate and imprudent manner.” They add: “If it is always inappropriate to use the title, then the saints and mystics who used this title were irresponsible and inappropriate.” 

The theologians welcome a later clarification from DDF prefect Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández who told the journalist Diane Montagna on Nov. 25 that the title Co-Redemptrix is, “from now on,” “always inappropriate” to use in “official documents of the magisterium,” but it can still be used in discussions, prayer groups, and private devotion.

But the IMATC says the document still has a “substantial omission of the redemptive value of Mary’s unique active cooperation in objective redemption, as well as what we see to be an unnecessary prohibition of the legitimate Co-Redemptrix title from future official documents of the Holy See and from liturgical texts.” The move, they say, represents “an anti-development of doctrine.”

The theologians dismiss various other claims in the DDF note, including its argument that the Marian titles are best not used as they are “unhelpful” as they require “repeated explanations.” Many theological terms require perennial explanation, counters the commission, and cite as examples the title “Mother of God,” the Holy Trinity, transubstantiation, and papal infallibility. 

They note how, despite ruling not to use the term Co-Redemptrix, the DDF acknowledges the title has been used for centuries, and stress that Co-Redemptrix had been preferred instead of Redemptrix precisely to emphasize Mary’s subordination and dependency on Christ, the Redeemer.

The theologians cite how often popes have used the title and state that it is “unfortunate” these examples “are not given greater respect or presence in the actual text.” They also recall previous warnings against the contents of the DDF note, quoting Father Rene Laurentin, regarded as “one of the world’s foremost students” of Mariology, who wrote in 1951 it would be “gravely temerarious to attack the legitimacy” of the title Co-Redemptrix, and another respected Mariologist, Jesuit Father J.A. De Aldama, who wrote in 1950 that it is “not permitted to doubt its appropriateness.” 

Citing prominent theologians of the past, they dispute the DDF’s claim that the Second Vatican Council refrained from using the title, calling the claim “not entirely accurate,” as Lumen Gentium, especially No. 58, “explicitly affirms the doctrine of Mary as Co-Redemptrix without using the term.” 

They also stress that previous popes, such as Pius XI, Pius XII, and John Paul II, have explained the meaning of the title and taught that Mary is the “new Eve.” The DDF document, they conclude, “is not merely discouraging the Co-Redemptrix title; it is also failing to teach in a positive way Mary’s truly redemptive role with and under Jesus in redemption as put forth by the papal magisterium.” 

They further contend that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s negative response in 1996 to a dogmatic definition of Mary as Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces “concerned the maturity” of the proposed dogma, “not a repudiation of the titles,” and he never forbade use of the term.

Mediatrix of All Graces

Concerning Mary’s title as Mediatrix of All Graces, the IMATC criticized the DDF note for seeking to reduce Mary’s maternal mediation only to intercession and for omitting the teaching of 12 popes, including Pope Francis, over four centuries, that upholds Mary’s universal mediation, each of which it lists. 

The Marian association also notes that the DDF failed to mention three pontifical commissions established by Pius XI that resulted in 2,000 pages of theological support in favor of the papal definition of Mary’s universal mediation of grace. After presenting further arguments in support of the title, the IMATC asks that the “long-standing doctrinal teaching” of Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces be affirmed and celebrated. 

Mater Populi Fidelis states that Marian mediation should not be understood in terms of producing grace, but while the IMATC agrees that true grace only comes from God, it says the note “fails to affirm the active and causal secondary mediation of Mary in the distribution of graces” — something, it says, that previous popes such as Pius X clearly taught. It states that the DDF note “again does not appear reconcilable with papal doctrine.”  

Further criticisms of the DDF note the IMATC makes is that the document misses a “true presentation of Mary’s authentic motherhood” and Mary’s intimate union with Christ in the sanctification of souls — a teaching St. John Paul II espoused in his 1987 encyclical Redemptoris Mater. Furthermore, it says the DDF note minimizes Mary’s merits and, it believes, therefore “undermines all human merit and cooperation in the work of redemption.” 

The IMATC expresses concern that by lessening the magisterial doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces, the DDF has thrown many Marian practices, such as those connected with the Miraculous Medal, the rosary, and scapular, “into unnecessary confusion and doubt.” It asks how religious communities who use the Co-Redemptrix title in their name are to proceed, and how the 10 million members strong Legion of Mary will respond given that the organization’s handbook has 10 references to Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces. 

More importantly, the theologians believe the document will undermine the faithful’s confidence in the papal magisterium, and notes “confusion and frustration” in this area “are already being voiced.” 

A week before the publication of the IMATC response, Mariologists launched a filial appeal to Pope Leo XIV, noting the “dismay and consternation” among many of the faithful following the publication of Mater Populi Fidelis and calling on Leo to restore the “honor, truth, and special veneration owed to the Blessed Virgin Mary.” 

Protestant more than Catholic 

The IMATC theologians contend that it is “precisely the teachings” of Mary as Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix that “constitute the perpetual doctrine of the Church” as they have been taught from Scripture to the Patristic model of Mary as the new Eve, up to modern and contemporary popes. 

They believe the risks mentioned by the DDF “appear more theoretical than real” and add that, on the contrary, the titles become “excellent opportunities for authentic Catholic evangelization” along with other key Catholic truths that require appropriate explanations. 

Catholic theology affirms that God willed the Virgin Mary to have a role in the work of redemption, the theologians stress, and God wished to associate the contribution of an immaculate human woman and mother to his saving design. “To propose, instead, a redemption based on ‘Jesus alone’ bereft of any human redemptive value on the part of Mary, seems to resemble more a Protestant theology of redemption than that of the Catholic Church,” the IMATC says.

They close by stating it is their “sincere hope and prayer” that their response will contribute, “in a spirit of true synodal dialogue, to a reevaluation of Mater Populi Fidelis” and that such a reevaluation “will lead to a new expression of the magisterium concerning these critically important Marian doctrines and titles in greater consistency, development, and harmony with the doctrinal teachings of previous popes.” 

“Among such teachings,” it says, “are those that recognize the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.