December 6, 2025 // Pope Leo XIV

News Briefs: December 7, 2025

OSV NEWS

A 71-year-old man reacts after claiming his wife is trapped inside Wang Fuk Court apartment complex during a major fire in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong Nov. 26, 2025. Hong Kong leader John Lee said that 36 people were reported killed in the fire that spread through a dense high-rise residential housing complex, and that another 279 people were reported missing. (OSV News photo/Tyrone Siu, Reuters)

Catholic Bishops Offer Prayers for Guard Members Shot in D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) – Catholic bishops are offering prayers following the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, November 26. The midafternoon attack, believed to be perpetrated by a lone suspect now in custody, killed 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, who succumbed to her injuries in the hospital on Thursday, November 27, and left 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe in critical condition. “We are praying for the healing of the injured National Guard members and will continue to monitor the situation,” Chieko Noguchi, spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told OSV News. In August, President Donald Trump federalized more than 2,000 National Guard troops, deploying them to the nation’s capital to combat crime, despite protests from Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Following the attack, which took place not far from the White House, Trump ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops deployed in Washington, said secretary of war Pete Hegseth. The president posted on social media that the “animal that shot the two National Guardsmen … will pay a very steep price.”

White Sox Owner: Pope Said He Would Love to Throw a Season-Opening Pitch

CHICAGO (OSV News) – A stakeholder – and next owner – of the Chicago White Sox baseball team said Pope Leo XIV told him that he’d “love to” throw a season-opening first pitch in the future – “schedule permitting.” Pope Leo’s favorite sports team is the White Sox, and much has been made of his being a huge fan of the Chicago South Siders. He grew up as a diehard Sox fan in Chicago’s south suburb of Dolton. Justin Ishbia, a Chicago billionaire, owner of a private equity firm, and a co-owner of the team, told several major news outlets he met the pope outside St. Peter’s Basilica at his general audience on Wednesday, November 19, and shared with him his vision for the future of the White Sox. “In the conversation, I extended an invitation for him to visit Chicago and throw out the first pitch on opening day should this ballpark come to fruition,” Ishbia told the Chicago Tribune. He also presented to him a 2005 World Series championship team jersey, signed by the team, “as a symbol of teamwork and perseverance.” Video footage of then-Father Robert Prevost’s Game 1 appearance at the 2005 World Series between the White Sox and the Houston Astros cemented now-Pope Leo’s place in history as the world’s most well-known Sox fan.

Study Shows Record Numbers of Women Are Visiting
Pregnancy Centers

WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) – In 2024, pregnancy centers saw more new clients, provided more medical care, and distributed more material goods than ever before, according to a new report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Between free medical care, education services such as childbirth classes, and items such as diapers, baby clothes, and car seats, pregnancy centers provided an estimated $452 million to families in need. Centers also are increasingly upping the number of services they offer, including abortion pill reversals, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, childbirth classes, and after-abortion support. “As permissive abortion policies continue to deprioritize women’s health, CLI’s results demonstrate that pregnancy centers found in communities across the country stand ready to provide focused, quality, wide-ranging, life-affirming care,” said Moira Gaul, a Charlotte Lozier Institute associate scholar and the project manager of the report. Since the original national study was published in 2017, new clients have steadily increased from 883,700 in 2017 to now more than 1 million; the number of pregnancy center locations has increased from 2,600 in 2017 to 2,775 in 2024; and the number of ultrasound exams performed went from 400,100 in 2017 to 636,000 in 2024, a 60-percent increase.

Community Recounts Unspeakable Tragedy of Kidnapped Children in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria (OSV News) – Church leaders in West Africa are pleading for the safe return of hundreds of children and teachers kidnapped from a Catholic school in central Nigeria. The November 21 attack on St. Mary’s School in Papiri left the rural community reeling, with Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora describing widespread trauma and confusion. As of Wednesday, November 26, 265 people – including 253 children – remained in captivity, while about 50 students who escaped have been reunited with their families. Local residents say entire families were taken, and at least one parent died from the shock of learning his young children were abducted. Nigeria’s government has launched a military search-and-rescue mission, and Pope Leo XIV used his November 23 Angelus address to call for the hostages’ release – as well as for the release of kidnapped clergy in Cameroon. Church leaders there warn they may shut down parishes and schools if abductions continue. “The frequent kidnapping of our priests and mission personnel has pushed us to the wall, and we say that this should stop with immediate effect,” a November 23 news release signed by Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda said. “We think these people need to live in tranquility and peace,” he said.

Marriage Is an Exclusive Union Requiring ‘Tender Care,’ New Document States

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The foundation of sacramental marriage is the unity of the spouses, a bond so intense and grace-filled that it is exclusive and indissoluble, said a document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document, “‘Una Caro’ (One Flesh): In Praise of Monogamy, Doctrinal Note on the Value of Marriage as an Exclusive Union and Mutual Belonging,” was released only in Italian by the Vatican on Tuesday, November 25. Pope Leo XIV approved its contents on November 21 and authorized its publication. “Although each marital union is a unique reality, embodied within human limitations, every authentic marriage is a unity composed of two individuals, requiring a relationship so intimate and all-encompassing that it cannot be shared with others,” the document said. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the doctrinal dicastery, wrote in the document’s introduction that the dicastery wanted to draw from Scripture, theology, philosophy, and “even poetry” to explain why it is best to choose “a unique and exclusive union of love, a reciprocal belonging that is rich and all-embracing.”

Vatican Reports Financial Surplus in 2024

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Vatican officials reported that the Holy See ended 2024 with a 1.6-million-euro surplus ($1.85 million) compared to a deficit of 51.2 million euros ($59.3 million) in 2023. Its operational deficit, while not eliminated, was reduced almost by half from 83.5 million euros ($96.8 million) in 2023 to 44.4 million euros ($51.5 million) in 2024. This improvement “represents significant progress in consolidating the Holy See’s economic situation,” Maximino Caballero Ledo, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, told Vatican News on Wednesday, November 26. “This result was supported by an overall increase in revenues of almost 79 million euros ($91.6 million) compared with the previous year,” he said the same day the dicastery published the Holy See’s financial statement for 2024. Despite the “prudent control of expenses and a constant effort to improve operational efficiency,” Caballero said, “an operating deficit of 44.4 million euros remains,” which will require further “consolidation and growth” to reach full financial sustainability as the Vatican seeks to balance its “missionary commitment and the responsible management of resources.”