News & Commentary

Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino, Calif., the main celebrant, distributes Communion to a detainee during a Mass on the grounds of the ICE Processing Center near Adelanto, Calif., Dec. 10, 2025. Attendees said the Mass, which took place in the Mojave Desert, was deeply emotional for both the bishops and the roughly 300 detainees present.

California bishops celebrate ‘very powerful’ Mass for detainees in ICE facility

OSV News December 19, 2025

A group of seven California bishops celebrated Mass at the ICE Processing Center outside the town of Adelanto in the Mojave Desert on December 10, providing communion to the roughly 300 detainees present.

Mercy sister who is lifelong advocate for developmentally disabled to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal

OSV News March 21, 2023

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (OSV News) — Mercy Sister Rosemary Connelly, former executive director of Misericordia and lifelong advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities, will receive the University of Notre Dame’s 2023 Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given ...

Top Vatican official says London property deal was a ‘Via Crucis’

OSV News March 20, 2023

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The substitute secretary for general affairs in the Vatican Secretariat of State said Vatican officials “were forced” into spending $17 million rather than an anticipated $2 million to $4 million to buy out an Italian broker ...

An Indigenous woman reacts as Pope Francis meets with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities at Maskwacis, Alberta, July 25, 2022. Women leaders from among Canada's Indigenous nations were at the United Nations' New York headquarters March 8, 2023, seeking broad support, including from Pope Francis, in their ongoing campaign to stop violence against their communities' women and girls. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Indigenous Canadians seek support to fight violence against women, girls

OSV News March 17, 2023

Women leaders from among Canada's Indigenous nations were at the United Nations' New York headquarters, seeking broad support, including from Pope Francis, in their ongoing campaign to stop violence against their communities' women and girls.

Bishop Robert F. Vasa of Santa Rosa, Calif. concelebrates Mass in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica during an "ad limina" visits to the Vatican Jan. 27, 2020. Bishop Vasa announced the diocese would file for bankruptcy on March 13, 2023, in order to address potentially 200 new claims brought against the diocese by survivors of child sexual abuse. (CNS photo/Stefano Dal Pozzolo)

Santa Rosa Diocese files for bankruptcy in face of potentially 200 abuse claims

OSV News March 16, 2023

The Diocese of Santa Rosa filed for bankruptcy March 13, days after its bishop finally concluded the decision was necessary in order to address potentially 200 new claims brought against the diocese by survivors of child sexual abuse.

A file photo shows a mural depicting child labor. Citing "burdensome and obsolete" requirements of state child labor law, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation March 8, 2023, that eliminates state age verification for children younger than 16 seeking a job, drawing concern from Catholic and labor advocates. (OSV News photo/Shanshan Chen, Reuters)

Catholic, labor leaders raise concerns as Arkansas revises child labor law

OSV News March 15, 2023

In a legislative development that has drawn concern from both Catholic and labor leaders, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., signed into law March 8 the Youth Hiring Act of 2023, which eliminates state age verification for children younger than 16 ...

A statue of Christ is pictured during Via Crucis, or Stations of the Cross, in El Crucero, Nicaragua. Nicaragua's dictatorship is reported to have banned the traditional Stations of the Cross processions in the streets during Lent. (OSV News photo/Oswaldo Rivas, Reuters)

Attacks on Nicaragua’s Catholic entities must stop, says Human Rights Watch head

OSV News March 14, 2023

Nicaragua's assaults on Catholic and other educational institutions, its stripping political opponents of citizenship, and its arrest of political opponents must stop, said Human Rights Watch's acting executive director, Tirana Hassan.