Pope names new archbishop of Westminster as part of generational shift in English-speaking hierarchy

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV named a new archbishop of Westminster on Friday in another high-profile appointment that signals a generational shift in the English-speaking Catholic hierarchy.

Leo tapped Bishop Richard Moth, 67, to replace the retiring Cardinal Vincent Nichols, 80, as the London-based archbishop of the largest British diocese in terms of Catholic population and priests.

The appointment came a day after Leo named Bishop Ronald Hicks, 58, to succeed the retiring Cardinal Timothy Dolan as archbishop of New York, one of the biggest and most important archdioceses in the U.S.

Dolan and Nichols had been two of the heavyweight English-speaking cardinals for more than a decade, both of them appointed to their high-profile jobs in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Nichols would become more closely associated with Pope Francis, who made him a cardinal in 2014 and kept him on the job well beyond the normal retirement age for bishops of 75.

Dolan, who is affiliated more with the conservative wing of the church, had submitted his resignation to Francis in February, as required by church law when he turned 75. Leo accepted it 10 months later, soon after Dolan finalized the creation of a $300 million settlement fund for victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Leo has indicated that he wants to respect the 75-year-old retirement age norm more vigorously going forward, as a way to reinvigorate the church leadership, though he allowed that there could still be two-year extensions granted for cardinals.

Leo made the comments last month in a speech to Italian bishops, saying the church has to “constantly renew itself” to confront today’s challenges. “We must prevent inertia from slowing necessary change, even for good intentions,” he said on Nov. 25.

Moth was born in Chingola, Zambia, and has served as bishop of Arundel and Brighton since 2015. Prior to that, he was bishop to the British armed forces.

He takes over at Westminster Cathedral, which is considered the mother church for Catholics in England and Wales.

In another appointment announced Friday, Leo accepted the resignation of Bishop Gerald Barbarito, 75, as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, and named as his replacement the Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, currently pastor of the Our Lady of Sorrows church in the Queens borough of New York City.

With 17,000 congregants in the mostly Hispanic neighborhood of Corona, the church is the largest parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn, which also oversees churches in Queens. It was particularly hard-hit during COVID-19, losing more than 100 of its parishioners.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

From left, outgoing archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Bishop Richard Moth and the cardinal's press secretary Alexander des Forges sit, during a press conference announcing Bishop Moth as the new Archbishop, replacing Cardinal Nichols as the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, in the Throne Room of Archbishop's House, Westminster, London, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Outgoing archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Bishop Richard Moth arrive for a press conference announcing Bishop Moth as the new Archbishop, replacing Cardinal Nichols as the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, in the Throne Room of Archbishop's House, Westminster, London, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Outgoing archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, left, listens to Bishop Richard Moth speaking during a press conference announcing him as the new Archbishop of Westminster, replacing Cardinal Vincent Nichols as the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, in the Throne Room of Archbishop's House, Westminster, London, Friday Dec. 19, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Bishop Richard Moth speaks during a press conference announcing him as the new Archbishop of Westminster, replacing Cardinal Vincent Nichols as the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, in the Throne Room of Archbishop's House, Westminster, London, Friday Dec. 19, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin emphasized Friday that Moscow’s troops were advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine and voiced confidence the Kremlin would achieve its goals militarily if Kyiv doesn't agree to Russia's conditions in peace talks.

Speaking at his tightly orchestrated annual news conference that lasted over four hours, Putin declared that Russian forces have “fully seized strategic initiative” and would make more gains by year's end.

In the early days of the conflict in 2022, Ukraine's forces thwarted an attempt by Russia’s larger, better-equipped army, to capture the capital of Kyiv. But the fighting soon settled into grinding battles, and Moscow's troops have made slow and steady progress over the years. Putin frequently touts this progress — even though it's not the lightning advance many expected.

“Our troops are advancing all across the line of contact, faster in some areas or slower in some others, but the enemy is retreating in all sectors,” Putin said at the live news conference, which is combined with a nationwide call-in show that offers Russians across the country the opportunity to ask questions of their leader.

Putin, 73, has ruled the country for 25 years and uses the event to cement his power and air his views on domestic and global affairs.

This year, the news conference took place against the backdrop of a peace plan in Ukraine put forward by U.S. President Donald Trump. Despite the extensive diplomatic push, Washington’s efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv.

While the event has previously focused heavily on domestic questions — and offered Putin a chance to expound on topics from the price of eggs to water cuts — Ukraine dominated it this year. Since it is highly choreographed, that could reflect the Kremlin’s desire to assuage the public after nearly four years of fighting.

Putin reaffirmed that Moscow was ready for a peaceful settlement that would address the “root causes” of the conflict, a reference to the Kremlin’s tough conditions for a deal.

The Russian leader wants all the areas in four key regions captured by his forces, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He has also insisted that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces haven’t captured yet. Kyiv has publicly rejected all these demands.

The Kremlin has also insisted that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO and warned that it wouldn't accept the deployment of any troops from members of the military alliance members and would view them as “legitimate target.”

Putin also has repeatedly said Ukraine must limit the size of its army and give official status to the Russian language — demands he has made from the outset of the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed readiness to drop Ukraine’s bid to join NATO if the U.S. and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar to those offered to alliance members. But at the same time, he has emphasized that Ukraine believes NATO membership remains the best security guarantee.

″The United States don’t see us in NATO, for now," Zelenskyy said this week. “Politicians change.”

Putin rebuffed Western claims about purported Russian plans to attack European nations as “sheer nonsense” aimed at deflecting public attention from domestic problems.

He particularly singled out NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte for his statements about the Kremlin's aggressive intentions, pointing out Trump's recently published national security strategy that doesn’t name Russia as a direct adversary. “How can you prepare NATO for a war with Russia if the main member of NATO doesn't consider us as an enemy?” Putin said.

He alleged that European elites “impudently” backed Trump's Democratic rival Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and now hope the U.S. political landscape will change after the midterm elections to Congress, helping raise pressure on the White House.

As it faces grinding Russian advances across the front line and relentless attacks on its energy facilities, Ukraine is on the verge of bankruptcy — and it desperately needs more cash from its Western allies.

On Friday, European Union leaders agreed to provide a massive interest-free loan, but they failed to bridge differences with Belgium that would have allowed them to use frozen Russian assets to raise the funds.

The leaders tried to reassure Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are held, that they would protect it from any retaliation from Moscow if it backed the plan, but the leaders eventually opted to borrow the money on capital markets.

Putin said using Russian assets to help Kyiv would have amounted to “robbery,” adding that the move would have spooked investors, “dealing not only an image blow but undermining confidence in the eurozone.”

Putin told the audience the flow of volunteer soldiers has remained strong, topping 400,000 this year. It was not possible to independently verify that claim since little is known about the recruitment effort.

But the government offers relatively high pay and extensive benefits that have helped swell troop ranks. The Kremlin says that it exclusively relies on volunteers to fight in Ukraine, but some media reports and rights groups have said that military officers often coerce conscripts into signing military contracts.

Asked by a soldier’s widow about the slowness in paying out a pension, Putin apologized and vowed that the issue would be quickly solved — an exchange typical of the annual event, which the Russian leader often uses to show his command of a wide array of subjects and his ability to solve problems.

The news conference featured questions from journalists in the Gostinny Dvor amphitheater as well as via video link from across Russia. A young man in a red bow tie who held a placard saying he wanted to get married used his question to Putin to propose to his girlfriend. Later, one of the anchors at the event reported that she had answered “yes,” and Putin joked about collecting money for the wedding.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, background center, speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to attend his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks at the annual board meeting of the country's Defense Ministry in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)