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

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.
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Pope Leo XIV and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wave from the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, during their meeting July 9, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Ukraine religious leaders issue ‘desperate cry’ to world to end Russia’s war

Ukraine's religious leaders have issued a "desperate cry" to the global faith community in ending "the humanitarian and spiritual catastrophe" resulting from Russia's war on their nation.
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A Planned Parenthood facility in Washington is seen in this file photo. (OSV News photo/Tyler Orsburn)

Judge blocks, for now, Planned Parenthood defunding provision backed by bishops

A federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, that would have stopped Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid payments for a year.
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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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