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Pope Leo XIV received Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia on December 5.

“We discussed global challenges that require our firm commitment to peace, democratic values, solidarity, and respect for international law,” Prime Minister Plenković said. “We emphasized the urgency of bringing the war in Ukraine to an end and achieving a just peace, and we expressed our support for stabilizing the situation in the Middle East.”

After the papal audience, the prime minister met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Msgr. Mihăiță Blaj, the recently appointed Undersecretary for Relations with States. The parties discussed Church-state relations, regional cooperation in the Balkans, and the war in Ukraine, according to a Vatican statement.

Croatia, a Southeast European nation of 4.2 million (map), is 94% Christian (87% Catholic) and 2% Muslim.

The Italian Episcopal Conference has published “Educare a una pace disarmata e disarmante” [Educating for a disarmed and disarming peace], a 34-page pastoral note on peace.

The conference’s president, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, said that the document

invites us to rediscover the centrality of Christ “our peace” in every proclamation and commitment to promote reconciliation and harmony, and is part of the Social Doctrine of the Church, with a careful analysis of the current situation marked by numerous conflicts; by the “useless slaughter” of people, mostly civilians and children; by a mentality that pursues the strategy of arms deterrence, which can change the economy and culture of our countries; from widespread violence that risks becoming a culture that fascinates especially the youngest.

Setting cars on fire and vandalizing property, Israeli settlers have again attacked the predominantly Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank.

The attack on the night of December 4-5 followed similar attacks in July and November.

“Taybeh is the last Christian village in the area, and we need global cooperation to help it survive,” said Father Bashar Fawadleh, pastor of the town’s Latin-rite parish.

The Preacher of the Papal Household preached his first weekly Advent sermon in Paul VI Audience Hall on December 5, in the presence of Pope Leo, the Roman Curia, and staff of the Vatican City State and the Vicariate of Rome.

The title of Father Roberto Pasolini’s sermon was entitled “The Parousia of the Lord: An expectation without hesitation.” The sermon had three sections, devoted to recognizing grace, eliminating evil, and dedicating oneself to salvation.

The overall theme of the Capuchin Franciscan’s series of sermons is “Awaiting and hastening the coming of the day of God: Jubilee hope between waiting for the Lord and the universality of salvation.”

Pope Leo XIV received cardiologists associated with the Paris Course on Revascularization and told them that “the Church consistently affirms the vocation of scientific inquiry, which opens the human person to truth and to a deeper service of the common good.”

“You embody this spirit whenever you seek to heal the heart, both physically and metaphorically, bringing relief to those who suffer and bringing hope to their families,” Pope Leo continued. “Indeed, the ‘service of life’ is foundational to every authentic medical act, for it reflects the tenderness with which Christ himself drew near to the sick and the vulnerable.”

On December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Leo XIV asked pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to renew Mary’s “yes” to God.

“Dear friends, how great is the gift of the Immaculate Conception, but so also is the gift of Baptism that we have received,” Pope Leo said during his Angelus address. “The ‘yes’ of the Mother of the Lord is wonderful, but so also can ours be, renewed faithfully each day, with gratitude, humility and perseverance, in prayer and in concrete acts of love, from the most extraordinary gestures to the most mundane and ordinary efforts and acts of service.”

“In this way, Christ can be known, welcomed and loved everywhere and salvation can come to everyone,” the Pope added.

Reflecting on the Scripture readings for the Second Sunday of Advent, Pope Leo XIV said, “Let us prepare ourselves for his Kingdom, let us welcome it. The little child, Jesus of Nazareth, will lead us!”

“He who placed himself in our hands, from the night of his birth to the dark hour of his death on the cross, shines upon our history as the rising Sun,” he continued, as he addressed pilgrims during his December 7 Angelus address. “A new day has begun: let us arise and walk in his light!”

At the conclusion of his address, the Pope recalled his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon and prayed for the people of South Asia and Southeast Asia, “who have been severely tried by recent natural disasters.”

Today the Church in the United States celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548), an Indian convert, to whom the Virgin Mary appeared as he was going to Mass in Tlatlelolco, Mexico. Our Lady asked him to tell the Bishop that she desired a shrine to be built on the spot to manifest her love for all mankind. She left a marvelous portrait of herself on the mantle of Juan Diego as a sign for the Bishop. This miraculous image has proved to be ageless, and is kept in the shrine built in her honor, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas.

Is there a definitive reason for the collapse in religious vocations? Sister Miriam Heidland, SOLT, explains what she believes is the potential cause.