Happy New Year!
Pope ‘deeply concerned’ over events in majority Catholic Venezuela
Pope Leo XIV has expressed his concern over events in Venezuela, when United States forces arrested President Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas and brought him to New York for trial on charges of narco-terrorism. Speaking at the Angelus prayer at the Vatican yesterday, he said he was following the story with deep concern: “The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration and lead us to overcome violence and to undertake paths of justice and peace, safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respecting the human and civil rights of each person and of all, and working to build together a serene future of collaboration, stability, and concord, with special attention to the poorest who suffer because of the difficult economic situation”. He concluded with a hope for peace: “Let us continue to have faith in the God of peace. Let us pray and stand in solidarity with the peoples who suffer because of wars.” In early December, Pope Leo advised against military action in Venezuela, telling journalists: “I truly believe that it is better to look for ways of dialogue, maybe pressure, including economic pressure, but looking another way to change, if that is what they want to do in the United States.”
Venezuelan church leaders shocked and appealing for peace
An estimated 70 per cent of the population is Catholic and, in a statement, Venezuelan bishops condemned all forms of violence, voiced their closeness to those who were injured or died as a result of the operation, and urged citizens to pray for peace. “We stand in solidarity with those who were injured and the families of those who have died”. Crux Now report here . Presbyterian minister Rev Ricardo Corzo, told the BBC’s Sunday programme that his congregation and all Protestant church leaders who had spoken to one another, were deeply shocked, afraid and wanted peace. He suggested 95 per cent of the people were against any military intervention in Venezuela, saying “bombs are not the answer”. Evangelical leaders quoted by Christian Post reflected some support but also calls for peace.
Mass for victims of Swiss ski resort fire
Hundreds of mourners attended a mass for the victims of the New Year’s Day fire at Le Constellation bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana. The service at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe, was led by Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sion, who said condolences had poured in from around the world, including from Pope Leo, who conveyed his sorrow and compassion for the victims’ families. Representing the Protestant churches, the Rev Gilles Cavin also addressed the congregation, acknowledging the “Terrible uncertainty, dismay, anguish and anger” among the families, saying they gathered because “silence alone is not enough”. Relatives of those who died and were injured hugged each other and wept, some fainted with emotion, as the service proceeded. Afterwards the mourners, joined a silent march up the hill, past a mound of flowers creating a makeshift memorial, to the site of the tragedy, where the bar has been covered in white plastic sheeting. Emergency services and rescue workers who assisted at the fire, were applauded by families as they joined the vigil. More than 40 people died but only 20 have been identified, and nine were under 16. Some of the 115 people in hospital have not yet been identified due to extent of their injuries. One of the missing is Charlotte Niddam, a 15-year-old pupil at Immanuel College, a private Jewish school in Bushey, Hertfordshire. The Jewish website Anash.org reports that a synagogue was in the same building complex as the bar, and three Jewish people are missing.
Report says 17 Catholic missionaries killed in service in 2025
The Vatican’s mission information service, Fides, has released figures showing that from 2000 to 2025, 626 Catholic missionaries worldwide were killed, including priests, nuns, seminarians and lay people. In 2025, 17 missionaries were killed worldwide, including ten missionaries (six priests, two seminarians, and two catechists) murdered in Nigeria, four missionaries killed in the Americas (two priests and two nuns), and two in Asia (one priest and one layperson). One priest was killed in Europe. This marked an increase in deaths compared to 2024, when 14 were killed. The incidents included armed raids of a seminary, exhaustion following a kidnapping and forced march, and others caught up in civil conflict. Fides report here
David Lammy praying for a better world ‘in dark times’
The Justice Secretary, David Lammy, has been explaining the way his Christian faith in the Catholic tradition, informs his socialism and political decisions. Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday programme, he said his faith called him to advocate for people who cannot do so themselves. He gave examples of ways in which he pursued justice, such as the completion of the Hillsborough law, public accountability measures after Grenfell, justice for victims of crime through trying to achieve speedier court processes and tackling the prison system to improve rehabilitation. He said we are living in darker times than when his political career began, and he prays for a more peaceful world, resilience and wisdom, working on behalf of young people for a better country and a better world.
Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss has died aged 96
King Charles has led tributes to Eva Schloss, the stepsister of diarist Anne Frank, who co-founded the Anne Frank Trust UK, to enable young people to challenge prejudice. She died peacefully in London at the age of 96 on Saturday 3 January 2026. Jewish News reports that she was born in Austria in 1929, and her family escaped to Amsterdam where they became neighbours of the Franks. But her family was betrayed and she was sent with her mother to Auschwitz. Her father and brother were murdered. After the war, she settled in London, where she was married, and her mother Frtizi married Anne Frank’s father Otto the year after. The King paid tribute to her work in overcoming prejudice and hatred. He and Queen Camilla, who became the Trust’s first Royal Patron, “admired her greatly”.
When to take down Christmas decorations
Christmas is only just beginning for a branch of Eastern Orthodox Christians who follow a different church calendar. For them, Christmas Day is 6 January, not 25 December, and the discrepancy is explained in our factsheet here. The current tradition is for the Christmas season to end on 6 January, marking Twelfth Night, the Epiphany, celebrated in western tradition as the arrival of the wise men. Five years ago, during a Covid lockdown, Dr Michael Carter from English Heritage suggested that Christmas decorations should be kept up until Candlemas on 2 February, because in the Middle Ages, Christmas continued until Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary when candles were blessed in churches. He said that after an especially tough year, keeping bright decorations for longer would bring some cheer into the coming dark winter months.
Catching up with headlines
25 December 2025: Christmas messages from the Pope and UK church leaders here
26 December 2025: Muslim Council of Britain published report on its recent project, holding 1,000 “town hall” meetings to report on the issues facing Muslims in Britain. It found 50 per cent of Muslims are British born, and 46 per cent are under the age of 24. But the community is confined by inequality, Islamophobia and a fragmented support system Report is here
27 December 2025: 27 senior Conservatives write to the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullaly, urging the CofE to stop £100 million slavery reparation payments, saying this is against charity law. Signatories include Lord Charles Moore and Lord Nigel Biggar. Times story here
28 December 2025: A study published in “Social Science and Medicine” says people over 50 had religious upbringings are physically healthier, having been told to refuse drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, but they have poorer mental health because of unresolved guilt, psychological pressure and patriarchal elements of religion. The study found that religiosity was more common among lower socio-economic groups, who may turn to it as a way of coping with adversity. Telegraph story here
31 December 2025: The Telegraph reported on TikTok vicars who prove “You don’t have to be a middle-aged man in a cardigan” to be a cleric. They include former barmaid the Rev Pippa White, curate of the Fauls, Whitchurch and Tilstock parish in Shropshire; “hot priest” Fr Jordan Palmer, vicar of St Edward the Confessor church in Romford, east London; and the Rev David Sims, vicar at St Thomas Church in Aldridge, Staffs, who describes himself as “a raving evangelical” wanting to tell people about Jesus.
1 Jan 2026: Dame Sarah Mullaly, incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, publishes New Year message calling for better access to health and social care in the community to ease the “severe strain” on the NHS. Times story here
1 January 2026: Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the first Muslim Mayor of New York City, taking his oath on the Quran. He pledged to tell a “new story of our city” and to deliver an agenda of safety, affordability, and abundance “where government looks and lives like the people it represents”. BBC report here
2 January 2026: The King and Christian leaders including the World Council of Churches, expressed their sympathy and sent condolences following the fire at Le Constellation bar, in Crans-Montana, which killed more than 40 mainly young people, and injured 115, some so badly they have still not been identified. Church Times story here
2 January 2026: Jewish Chronicle reports that minutes of a meeting, to discuss the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Birmingham in November, fail to back up West Midlands Police’s claim that it was supported by the local Jewish community. Story here
3 January 2026: The Guardian reported on how community spirit defended the 180-year-old St Anne’s church in Toxteth, which was threatened by far right activists in the 2024 summer riots. The lessons learned as three groups joined together – St Anne’s church, al-Rahma mosque and Asylum Link Merseyside – could be replicated across Britain as anti-immigration rhetoric has become widespread and “Christian nationalism” is on the march. Article here
