Pope

Penitentiary Services Ministry says those freed had been ‘deprived of their liberty’ for acts associated with disrupting the constitutional order.

At least 116 prisoners have been released in Venezuela after their arrests during the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, the government has announced, nine days after the United States abducted Maduro.

Venezuela’s Ministry of Penitentiary Services reported on Monday that the prisoners had been released “in the past few hours”. It followed a similar release a few days ago.

The ministry added that those freed had been “deprived of their liberty for acts associated with disrupting the constitutional order and undermining the stability of the nation”.

Two Italian citizens were also released, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani pledged to upgrade Rome’s relations with Caracas in response.

Dozens of dual Italian-Venezuelan nationals remain in prison.

However, the Foro Penal group, a human rights organisation, contended earlier on Monday that only 41 people had been released, including 24 people freed overnight.

The release of political prisoners in Venezuela has been a long-running call of human rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures.

Human rights groups estimated there are 800 to 1,200 political prisoners in Venezuela.

The releases, which began on Thursday, came after pressure by US President Donald Trump, who stated that Washington was “in charge” of the Latin American country following the military operation on January 3 to abduct Maduro, which sparked global protests and criticism.

Maduro now faces drug-trafficking charges and is currently being held in a prison in New York.

On Saturday, Trump celebrated the release of the prisoners in what he called a “big way”.

He added that he hopes those freed “will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done”.

A papal audience

In the meantime, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado met with Pope Leo XIV during a private audience on Monday.

So far, few details have been released about the meeting.

On Friday, the pontiff called for Venezuela’s sovereignty to be protected and issued an appeal “to respect the will of the Venezuelan people and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all.”

Machado, who is currently touring Europe, is expected to meet with Trump this week after he said on January 3 that she did not have the support or respect to lead the country.

She had dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump, who deeply covets the honour himself.

The Venezuelan opposition, which has been supported by Republican and Democratic administrations in the US, had pledged to replace Maduro with one of their own.

However, after the abduction of Maduro, Trump sidestepped the group, and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez became interim president.

Jan. 9 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV warned that “war is back in vogue” in his State of the World address Friday to ambassadors who are accredited to the Holy See.

The annual meeting is one of the most significant events in the Vatican’s yearly calendar and helps to define its diplomatic positions for the year, according to Vatican News.

The pope took the moment to reference the United States’ recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

“The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined,” he said.

“I renew my appeal to respect the will of the Venezuelan people, and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all, ensuring the stability and concord,” the pope added.

He called for an “immediate cease-fire” in Ukraine and expressed his support for a two-state solution to bring peace to the Middle East, while giving Palestinians a “future of lasting peace and justice in their own land.”

Pope Leo lamented what he called a decline in multilateralism and global cooperation, leading to peace instead of armed conflict.

“They do not, therefore, wish to have peace, but only the peace that they desire,” he said.

He said such a global mentality led to two world wars during the 20th century, but eventually produced the United Nations, which the pope said is tasked with “safeguarding peace, defending fundamental human rights and promoting sustainable development.”

Among other topics mentioned were a rising risk of nuclear war and the emergence of artificial intelligence.

He urged a renewed effort to control the proliferation of nuclear arms as the New START Treaty is scheduled to expire in February amid efforts by North Korea and Iran to join the ranks of nuclear powers and Russia’s repeated threats to use nuclear arms against Ukraine and others if compelled to do so.

Meanwhile, the emergence of AI “requires appropriate and ethical management” to ensure it is used to better the world and its societies and does not cause harm, Pope Leo said.

He also addressed matters involving migration, human trafficking and crime and cautioned against “undermining the dignity of migrants and refugees.”

Then he addressed the need for greater communication to help people of differing backgrounds to more effectively communicate and establish meaningful connections, rather than remaining divided by language and using it to cause harm instead of doing good in the world.

VATICAN CITY — In his most substantial critique of U.S., Russian and other military incursions in sovereign countries, Pope Leo XIV on Friday denounced how nations were using force to assert their dominion worldwide, “completely undermining” peace and the post-World War II international legal order.

“War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading,” Leo told ambassadors from around the world who represent their countries’ interests at the Holy See.

Leo didn’t name individual countries that have resorted to force in his lengthy speech, the bulk of which he delivered in English in a break from the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic protocol of Italian and French. But his speech came amid the backdrop of the recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela to remove Nicolás Maduro from power, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and other conflicts.

The occasion was the pope’s annual audience with the Vatican diplomatic corps, which traditionally amounts to his yearly foreign policy address.

In his first such encounter, history’s first U.S.-born pope delivered much more than the traditional roundup of global hotspots. In a speech that touched on threats to religious freedom and the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion and surrogacy, Leo lamented how the United Nations and multilateralism as a whole were increasingly under threat.

“A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies,” he said. “The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.”

“Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence,” he said.

A geopolitical roundup of conflicts and suffering

Leo did refer explicitly to tensions in Venezuela, calling for a peaceful political solution that keeps in mind the “common good of the peoples and not the defense of partisan interests.”

The U.S. military seized Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, in a surprise nighttime raid. The Trump administration is now seeking to control Venezuela’s oil resources and its government. The U.S. government has insisted Maduro’s capture was legal, saying drug cartels operating from Venezuela amounted to unlawful combatants and that the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with them.

Analysts and some world leaders have condemned the Venezuela mission, warning that Maduro’s ouster could pave the way for more military interventions and a further erosion of the global legal order.

On Ukraine, Leo repeated his appeal for an immediate ceasefire and urgently called for the international community “not to waver in its commitment to pursuing just and lasting solutions that will protect the most vulnerable and restore hope to the afflicted peoples.”

On Gaza, Leo repeated the Holy See’s call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and insisted on the Palestinians’ right to live in Gaza and the West Bank “in their own land.”

In other comments, Leo said the persecution of Christians around the world was “one of the most widespread human rights crises today,” affecting one in seven Christians globally. He cited religiously motivated violence in Bangladesh, Nigeria, the Sahel, Mozambique and Syria but said religious discrimination was also present in Europe and the Americas.

There, Christians “are sometimes restricted in their ability to proclaim the truths of the Gospel for political or ideological reasons, especially when they defend the dignity of the weakest, the unborn, refugees and migrants, or promote the family.”

Leo repeated the church’s opposition to abortion and euthanasia and expressed “deep concern” about projects to provide cross-border access to mothers seeking abortion.

He also described surrogacy as a threat to life and dignity. “By transforming gestation into a negotiable service, this violates the dignity both of the child, who is reduced to a product, and of the mother, exploiting her body and the generative process, and distorting the original relational calling of the family,” he said.

Winfield writes for the Associated Press.

Pope Leo has urged Ukraine and Russia to find the “courage” to hold direct talks to end the war during his first Christmas remarks to crowds in St Peter’s square.

He called for an end to conflicts around the world during his Urbi et Orbi address, which is traditionally delivered by the pontiff on Christmas Day to worshippers gathered in Vatican City.

Speaking about Ukraine, the Pope said: “May the clamour of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue.”

His plea comes as US-led negotiations on a deal to end the fighting continues.

The US has sought to put together an agreement acceptable to both sides, but direct talks between Russian and Ukraine have not taken place during this latest round of diplomatic efforts.

Pope Leo also decried turmoil and conflict plaguing other parts of the world, including Thailand and Cambodia where deadly border clashes have flared up despite a ceasefire in July.

He asked that the South East Asian nations’ “ancient friendship” be restored and “to work towards reconciliation and peace”.

During an earlier Christmas Day sermon in St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo lamented conditions for homeless people the world over, and the damage caused by conflicts.

“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” he said.

He said the story of the birth of Jesus showed that God had “pitched his fragile tent” among the people of the world. “How, then,” he asked, turning his attention to the conditions of Palestinians, “can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?”

Gaza has been devastated by Israeli bombardment in a two-year war, triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Winter storms have compounded the plight of the territory’s 2.1m population, nearly all of whom have been displaced and their homes damaged or destroyed.

Aid agencies have called for Israel to allow more tents and urgently needed supplies into Gaza.

Cogat, the Israeli military body which controls Gaza’s border crossings, has dismissed claims of deliberate aid restrictions, saying almost 310,000 tents and tarpaulins had been delivered since the start of the ceasefire in October.

Pope Leo has decried conditions ‍for Palestinians in ‍Gaza in his first Christmas sermon as pontiff, in an unusually direct appeal during what is normally a solemn, spiritual service on the day Christians across the globe celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Leo, the first American ⁠pope, said on Thursday that the story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God ​had “pitched his fragile tent” among the people of the world.

“How, then, ‍can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?” he asked.

Leo, celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the ‍world’s cardinals to ⁠succeed the late Pope Francis, has a quieter, more diplomatic style than his predecessor and usually refrains from making political references in his sermons.

But the new pope has also lamented the conditions for Palestinians in Gaza several times recently and told journalists last month that the only solution in the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine must include a Palestinian state.

Israel ​and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October ‌after two years of intense bombardment and military operations in Gaza, but humanitarian agencies say there is still too little aid getting into the largely destroyed Strip, where nearly the entire population is homeless after being displaced by Israeli attacks.

In Thursday’s service with thousands in ‌St Peter’s Basilica, Leo also lamented conditions for the homeless across the globe and the destruction caused by the wars ‌roiling the world.

“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless ⁠populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” said the pope.

“Fragile are the minds and lives of young people forced to take up arms, who on the ‌front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths,” he ‍added.

In a later appeal during the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message and blessing given by the pope at Christmas and Easter, Leo called for an end to all global wars, lamenting conflicts, ‌political, social or military, in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, and Thailand and Cambodia, among others.

‘The wounds are deep’

Ahead of the pope’s mass, in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, the Christian community began celebrating its first festive Christmas in more than two years, as the Palestinian city and biblical birthplace of Jesus emerges from the shadow of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Throughout the war, a sombre tone had marked Christmases in Bethlehem. But celebrations returned on Wednesday with parades and music. Hundreds of worshippers also gathered for mass at the Church of the Nativity on Wednesday night.

With pews filled long before midnight, many stood or sat on the floor for the traditional mass to usher in Christmas Day.

At 11:15 pm (21:15 GMT), organ music rang out as a procession of dozens of clergymen entered, followed by Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who blessed the crowd with signs of the cross.

In his homily, Pizzaballa urged peace, hope and rebirth, saying the Nativity story still held relevance in the turbulence of modern times.

He also spoke of his visit to Gaza over the weekend, where he said “suffering is still present” despite the ceasefire. In the Strip, hundreds of thousands of people face a bleak winter in makeshift tents.

“The wounds are deep, yet I have to say, here too, there too, their proclamation of Christmas resounds,” Pizzaballa said. “When I met them, I was struck by their strength and desire to start over.”

In Bethlehem, hundreds also took part in the parade down the narrow Star Street on Wednesday, while a dense crowd massed in the square. As darkness fell, multi-coloured lights shone over Manger Square and a towering Christmas tree glittered next to the Church of the Nativity.

The basilica dates back to the fourth century and was built on top of a grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born more than 2,000 years ago.

Bethlehem residents hoped the return of Christmas festivities would breathe life back into the city.

Dec. 24 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV brought back the Christmas Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Wednesday night, which is the first held there since 1994.

About 11,000 attended the mass, inside and out, despite rainy conditions, the Catholic News Agency reported.

Regarding the birth of Jesus, Pope Leo described it as, “God gives us nothing less than his very self, in order to ‘redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own.'”

To find the savior, he said, “We must look below to find God among us in the manger.”

A baby’s need for care “becomes divine since the son of the father shares in history with all his brothers and sisters,” he continued.

“The omnipotence of God shines forth in the powerlessness of a newborn; the eloquence of the eternal word resounds in an infant’s first cry; the holiness of the Spirit gleams in that small body, freshly washed and wrapped in swaddling clothes.”

Pope Leo also discussed the “infinite dignity of every person” and contrasted that with a world in which humanity often tries become god-like while dominating others, according to Vatican News.

“In the heart of Christ beats the bond of love that unites heaven and Earth, creator and creatures,” the Pope said, adding that the key to changing history is to recognize such realities.

“As long as the night of error obscures this providential truth, then ‘there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger,'” he added, quoting Pope Benedict XIV’s homily at Christmas Mass on Dec. 24, 2012.

“These words of Pope Benedict XVI remain a timely reminder that on Earth, there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person,” the pontiff said.

The pope afterward greeted those standing in the rain in St. Peter’s Square and told them that, while St. Peter’s Basilica is large, it is not large enough to hold all of them.

He thanked those who attended the mass while outside, wished them a merry Christmas and gave them his blessings.

About 6,000 attended the mass that started at 10 p.m. local time in the basilica, while another 5,000 watched on large video screens placed outside in St. Peter’s Square.

Replacing Pope with Bethell is the latest stage of long-running speculation around England’s number-three position.

Pope’s highest score in six innings on this Ashes tour is 46, extending his run of eight Tests against Australia without a half-century.

In the 27-year-old’s past seven Tests since making a century against India at Headingley in July, he averages 24.38.

Overall, he averages 34.55 in 64 Tests. This is the first time he has been left out of a Test since the 2022 tour of West Indies.

The Surrey man has been under pressure since Bethell made his Test debut in New Zealand at the end of last year, when the left-hander made three half-centuries in as many matches.

However, Bethell has endured a stop-start year since that breakthrough tour of New Zealand.

He has played only three first-class matches in the past year, one of which was the fifth Test against India at The Oval, when he made scores of six and five.

The 22-year-old did make 71 for England Lions against Australia A in Brisbane earlier this month.

Speculation that Bethell may come in for the start of the Ashes series grew when Pope was replaced as vice-captain by Harry Brook when the England squad was announced in September.

Instead, Pope has become the first selection victim of the failed bid to regain the urn.

“He’s not going to be the only one who’s disappointed in the dressing room with how things have gone,” said Stokes. “Being 3-0 down, it’s a tough place to be on a trip like this.

“There’s going to be a lot of disappointment within the dressing room from everyone who’s in there.”

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he was “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois had approved a law allowing for medically assisted suicide, and he called for greater respect for life.

Leo said he had spoken “explicitly” with Gov. JB Pritzker and urged him to not sign the bill into law. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich did the same, Leo told reporters as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

“We were very clear about the necessity to respect the sacredness of life from the very beginning to the very end, and unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided to sign that bill,” Leo said. “I am very disappointed about that.”

Pritzker signed the legislation Dec. 12. The measure is also known as “Deb’s Law,” honoring Deb Robertson, a resident of the state living with a rare terminal illness. She had pushed for the measure’s approval and testified to the suffering of people and their families wanting the chance to decide for themselves how and when their lives should end.

Pritzker, a Democrat, had said he had been moved by stories of patients suffering from terminal illnesses.

Leo, who grew up in Chicago, cited Catholic teaching, which calls for the defense and protection of life from conception until natural death, forbidding abortion and euthanasia.

“I would invite all people, especially in these Christmas days, to reflect upon the nature of human life, the goodness of human life,” Leo said. “God became human like us to show us what it means really to live human life, and I hope and pray that the respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence, from conception to natural death.”

The state’s six Catholic dioceses had criticized Pritzker’s signing, saying the law puts Illinois “on a dangerous and heartbreaking path.”

Eleven other states and the District of Columbia allow medically assisted suicide, according to the advocacy group, Death With Dignity. Delaware was the latest, and its provision takes effect Jan. 1, 2026. Seven other states are considering allowing it.

Santalucia writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.

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