News & Commentary

Rescuers paddle an inflatable boat as they search along a waterway in the aftermath of deadly flooding in Kerrville, Texas, July 6, 2025. At least 82 people are dead and at least 41 more are missing after devastating flash floods slammed the Texas Hill Country, with water rescues taking place along the Guadalupe River, which rose rapidly early July 4 to the height of a two-story building. Among the missing were almost a dozen from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, a children's summer camp, officials said July 6. (OSV News photo/Marco Bello, Reuters)

Catholics offer support as Texas flood’s catastrophic death toll rises

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott declared Sunday, July 6 a day of prayer throughout the state, as the death toll from catastrophic flooding July 4 has now risen to at least 82 people as of July 7, including 28 children in ...
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The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV is pictured in the Dolton suburb of Chicago May 9, 2025. The Village of Dolton intends to purchase the childhood home of Pope Leo, hoping to turn the property and its surroundings into a historical site. (OSV News photo/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)

Town officials vote to buy Pope Leo’s childhood home as ‘historical site’

An Illinois town intends to purchase the childhood home of Pope Leo XIV, hoping to turn the property and its surroundings into a historical site.
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Protesters flank an entrance road at a temporary migrant detention center nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Fla.

Miami clergy raise concerns as Trump tours Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Most Americans agree on the need for good U.S. border security, but to hear politicians and civil authorities hurl insults and jokes at the expense of migrants as Florida opened its new "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention center in the Florida ...
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The U.S. Capitol building in Washington June 27, 2025.

Senate passes Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’; measure heads to House

Senate Republicans on July 1 passed their version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would enact key provisions of President Donald Trump's legislative agenda on taxes and immigration, without any Democratic support and losing three members of their ...
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Firefighters walk past a law enforcement checkpoint June 30, 2025, a day after two firefighters were shot dead while responding to a fire and the body of a man was later found with a gun nearby in the Canfield Mountain area outside Coeur d'Alene.

Idaho Catholics unite in prayer for firefighters killed in sniper ambush

An Idaho pastor told OSV News his parish turned to prayer and Eucharistic adoration, following a deliberate and deadly attack on first responders.
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The caskets of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, lie in state June 27, 2025, at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul.

Slain Minnesota lawmaker, husband remembered for lives lived ‘with purpose, meaning’

Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were shot dead in their home June 14, were remembered at their funeral Mass June 28 for living their lives "with purpose and meaning."
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A mother and child are seen enjoying time together in a park in Indianapolis. All mothers are honored in special ways on Mother's Day, which is May 10 this year. (CNS photo/Mary Ann Wyand, The Criterion)

Studies show need to increase mental health support for young women, mothers

Limited access to mental health care, rising substance use disorders and increasing income inequality are three likely reasons that young women and mothers are reporting declining mental health.
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