News & Commentary

Pope Francis smiles at a bishop during his weekly general audience

Pope’s peace day message to focus on ethical concerns over AI

Signaling the Vatican’s growing engagement in efforts to ensure the ethical development of new technologies, the Vatican has announced that “Artificial Intelligence and Peace” will be the theme for the next World Day of Peace, which is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2024.

Read More →
Wiktoria Ulma pictured in a photo with several children

Martyred family’s ‘unprecedented’ beatification prompts theological reflection, pro-life prayers  

(OSV News) — When the Ulma family is beatified Sept. 10 as martyrs who gave their lives to protect Jews during the Holocaust, it may be the first time the Catholic Church has beatified an entire, specific family together, as ...
Read More →
Pope Francis at a news conference

On flight to Rome, pope responds to questions about abuse, his health

After a five-day trip to Portugal, which recently came to terms with its own clerical sex abuse crisis, Pope Francis said the Catholic Church must abandon its practice of covering up abuse and instead be "very open" about how it ...
Read More →
A young woman and a priest from Ukraine give Pope Francis shards from their war-torn country during a private meeting Aug. 3, 2023, at the Vatican nunciature in Lisbon, Portugal. The Vatican said the pope spent half an hour with a group of Ukrainian pilgrims attending World Youth Day, listening to their stories and praying for peace. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope meets WYD pilgrims from Ukraine

Fifteen World Youth Day pilgrims from Ukraine, most of whom had lost a father or other close relative in the war, had a private meeting with Pope Francis Aug. 3.
Read More →
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S., July 7, 2023. (OSV News photo/Scott Morgan, Reuters)

Latest Trump indictment sends U.S. to ‘uncharted territory’

Former President Donald Trump was indicted Aug. 1 by special counsel Jack Smith over his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. That indictment sends the U.S. into ...
Read More →
Visitors take a group photo in front of a roadway that separates Castel Sant'Angelo from Via della Conciliazione, the wide boulevard leading to St. Peter's Square in Rome July 30, 2023. On an average workday, some 3,800 vehicles travel this road each hour. The city of Rome plans to create an underground roadway for vehicle traffic with the aim of turning the entire area above ground into a car-free zone in time for Holy Year 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Jubilee years encourage holier heart, prettier city

When a Holy Year is proclaimed, the Catholic Church gets busy preparing for a year of big religious celebrations, organized pilgrimages and special initiatives to help deepen faith.
Read More →
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives to attend the World Youth Day welcoming ceremony July 28, 2016, at Blonia Park in Krakow, Poland. Catholic youth from African countries are departing to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 1-6, 2023. (OSV News photo/CNS file, Bob Roller)

Africans coming for World Youth Day set to bring hope, change to Western world

Because of costs of travel and distance, Africa may have a smaller representation of youth coming to World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon than other continents. But Catholic bishops and priests stress that the youth from Africa, where Christianity is ...
Read More →