Eight-year-old Yamen Abu Hilal lies on a bed as a woman sits beside him in a hospital room in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, on Nov. 24, 2025. His condition has sharply worsened amid the collapse of Gaza’s health care system, which has been unable to provide diagnostic tools, medication, or equipment since no medical supplies have entered the Strip following the ceasefire. / Credit: Doaa Albaz/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 19, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:
Jerusalem churches advocate for Gazan children to have cancer treatment in Israel
Church leaders in Jerusalem have called on the Israeli government to allow children in Gaza with leukemia to be allowed into Israel to receive treatment at Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives.
The Dec. 17 statement was addressed to “the responsible authorities” in Israel and signed by the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, who said they were appealing on “humanitarian grounds” to be allowed to facilitate swift treatment of the disease.
“The treatment for this disease is not available in Gaza, and it has the potential to transform the lives of those afflicted with it,” the statement said. “There will be no burden on the government for any cost, since it will all be borne by the hospital.”
Thousands of Christians gather for India’s largest Christmas music festival
More than 25,000 Christians and people across other faith backgrounds descended upon India’s capital city of Mumbai for the country’s largest Christmas music festival, UCA News reported.
“Jesus is not just the Prince of Peace; he is peace himself,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop emeritus of Bombay, at the 60th edition of the ecumenical celebration on Dec. 14 at a beachfront called Girgaon Chowpatty in South Mumbai. Since its conception, Gracias said, “the event has become a beacon of unity and joy, bringing together people from all walks of life.”
The event’s theme this year was “Peace and Hope to All in a World in Turmoil” and included a wide-ranging musical celebration that featured hymns in several different Indian languages, according to the report.
Award-winning investigation spotlights ‘forgotten’ churches in Sudan
An award-winning investigative report is drawing fresh attention to the damage sustained by churches in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, more than two and a half years after fighting erupted in April 2023, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported.
The investigation, produced in partnership between Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) and the Mountain Media network, documents harm to 23 churches and one monastery across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant communities, amid what it describes as limited regional and international coverage.
Reported violations range from shelling and arson to looting and the misuse of religious properties. The investigation cites eyewitness testimony, explosive engineering expertise, satellite imagery, and analysis linked to Yale University to support its claims, and argues that actions by both major warring sides contributed to the destruction, raising the possibility that some incidents could meet thresholds associated with war crimes or crimes against humanity under international legal frameworks.
Melbourne church to host archdiocesan synod
The Archdiocese of Melbourne has launched preparations for an archdiocesan synod in 2026, Archbishop Peter Comensoli announced in a letter addressed to the faithful on Dec. 14.
The synodal process will operate under three key themes: young discipleship, missionary leadership, and formation and participation. “These three themes have not arisen in isolation,” Comensoli said. “They have emerged consistently and clearly through all the listening, discernment, and consultation undertaken in recent years across the archdiocese, including the plenary council process, the global synod, and our local pastoral initiatives.”
South American countries continue missionary rosary tradition
Catholics in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Bolivia are celebrating their second year of being united in prayer through the Pontifical Mission Societies’ online missionary rosary. The prayer initiative was shared on the feast of St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of missions, and broadcast live on Facebook by the Pontifical Mission Societies in all the countries, according to Fides News Agency.
Brother Giancarlo Chirinos Barrera, national secretary of the Peruvian Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, said during the event, which drew hundreds of participants of all ages from each country: “We are all called to be missionaries, and it is truly beautiful to do so accompanied by the Virgin Mary.”
Calls to curb hate speech after vandalism at a Christian cemetery in Iraq
In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the vandalism of a recently established Christian cemetery in Shaqlawa, where crosses and grave markers were damaged, has renewed concerns about recurring attacks on Christian sites as Christmas and the new year approach. The cemetery reportedly contains 33 graves, and the incident follows other recent cases involving a Christian cemetery in Armota and a church in Duhok province.
Local officials said the suspect was identified and arrested with the help of surveillance cameras and an investigation is underway to determine motives and any links to similar acts in the area. The episode has prompted renewed appeals for stronger deterrence against hate speech, with community representatives warning that repeated incidents, even if carried out by individuals, can signal deeper societal problems and fuel fear among minority communities.
Pakistan hosts its first government-sponsored Christmas rally
The first-ever government-sponsored Christmas rally in Pakistan drew thousands of participants this week in the country’s Punjab province, according to a UCA News report.
The rally, sponsored by Punjab’s minister for minority affairs, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, took place on Dec. 15 and processed from Sacred Heart Cathedral for a little over four miles to a roundabout in downtown Lahore. Catholic and Protestant clergy joined the minister in leading the procession, during which participants sang Christmas carols and rode on buses and trucks decorated with festive balloons. Arora said the procession was aimed at countering “forces engaged in negative propaganda against Pakistan.”
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