News & Commentary

Women attend Mass in Goma, Congo, July 8, 2025, following the June 15 Vatican beatification of Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi. Blessed Kositi, a 26-year-old layman from Congo, was a member of the Congolese branch of the Community of Sant'Egidio, which called him "a martyr of corruption." Kidnapped July 7, 2007, after refusing a bribe, his body was discovered two days later with evident signs of torture. Blessed Kositi's remains were transferred from a public cemetery to a cathedral in Congo's eastern city of Goma during a special Mass. (OSV News photo/Arlette Bashizi, Reuters)

Congolese Catholics honor their beatified martyr of ‘integrity and honesty’

Hundreds of Catholics in Congo gave thanks for the recent Rome beatification of Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi, a customs official who was killed and tortured for refusing a bribe.
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A displaced Syrian family are pictured in a file photo inside their tent at a refugee camp in the village of Jeb Jennine, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. (OSV News photo/Paul Jeffrey)

Amid conflict, poverty, papal charity aids persecuted Christians worldwide

Amid conflict, instability and poverty, "a remarkable display of true Christian charity" helped sustain the church in more than 130 countries during the previous year, said Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, president of the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need.
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People cheer during a "Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth" concert at Times Square in New York City June 19, 2025.

Juneteenth seen as day to reflect on freedom, ending racism and Black Catholics’ contributions

This year marks the 160th anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the last Confederate state that continued to uphold the practice of slavery two years after it was abolished in the country -- an event marked by ...
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A member of the clergy holding an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe attends a vigil in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles June 10, 2025, as protests against federal immigration sweeps continue.

USCCB president: Bishops stand with immigrants ‘in this challenging hour’

"No one can turn a deaf ear to the palpable cries of anxiety and fear heard in communities throughout the country in the wake of a surge in immigration enforcement actions," said the leader of the nation's Catholic bishops in a June ...
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A file photo shows a family praying during Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington.

Almost half of U.S. adults have Catholic connection, but Mass makes significant difference in Catholic identity

Close to half of the nation's adults have a personal or family connection to Catholicism, but Mass attendance makes for significant differences in what Catholics say is essential to their identity.
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Hundreds of protesters gather for a rally at Gloria Molina Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles June 9, 2025, where civil rights and labor leaders demanded the release of union leader David Huerta from federal detention after he was arrested during an immigration enforcement action June 6. (OSV News photo/Daniel Cole, Reuters)

Mexican bishops express solidarity with migrants amid protests in US cities

The Mexican bishops' conference expressed solidarity with migrants "suffering persecution and violence" in the United States amid protests roiling Los Angeles.
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The Ukrainian national flag flies near Holy Wisdom Cathedral, or St. Sophia Cathedral, in central Kyiv on Feb. 14, 2025, amid Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine. Up to seven people were killed and up to 13 injured in a large-scale Russian drone attack on Kyiv and Odesa June 10, which also damaged the historic cathedral. (OSV News photo/Thomas Peter, Reuters)

Kyiv’s historic cathedral damaged in Russian air strikes

Up to seven people were killed and up to 13 injured in a large-scale Russian drone attack on Kyiv and Odesa June 10, which also damaged the historic Holy Wisdom Cathedral, also known as St. Sophia Cathedral.
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