News & Commentary

Henadz Fiadynich, one of the prisoners recently released from Belarus, speaks during a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sept. 12, 2025. (OSV News photo/Kacper Pempel, Reuters)

Jailed Catholic priests ‘used as hostages’ in Belarus

Human rights campaigners have accused the Belarus government of using imprisoned Catholic priests as "hostages," as a Polish Carmelite became the latest detained for alleged espionage.
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Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, take part in their first and only debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City Oct. 1, 2024.

Vance and Walz debate abortion, immigration, gun policy and democracy

At the first and only debate Oct. 1 between Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the vice presidential nominees of their respective parties, the candidates sparred with each other on topics including abortion, immigration, gun policy relating ...
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A drone view Sept. 29, 2024, shows a damaged area in Asheville, N.C., following the passing of Tropical Storm Helene.

Relief efforts underway in western North Carolina; flooding caused by Helene devastates region

Relief efforts are under way to help communities across western North Carolina reeling from the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene.
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Mount Angel Abbey's mountain climbing monks are pictured after summing Oregon's South Sister Mountain July 18, 2024. Pictured are Brother Gabriel Brands, Brother Ambrose Stewart, Brother Brandon Contreras and Father Michael Shrum. (OSV News photo/courtesy Brother Ambrose Stewart)

Mountain-climbing monks enjoy views, brews, Mass on Pacific Northwest peaks

In a summer of firsts, mountain-climbing Benedictine monks of Mount Angel Abbey took to the heights — their locally brewed beer tucked in backpacks — ascending renowned peaks in the Pacific Northwest during the season's brief window of opportunity.
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French President Emmanuel Macron and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio pose for a photo Sept. 22, 2024, during 38th "International Meeting for Peace" in Paris. (OSV News photo/Thibault Camus, pool via Reuters)

Stop the wars while there is still time, pope tells Sant’Egidio peace summit in Paris

For three days, Paris welcomed several thousand participants from around the globe who took part in the 38th "International Meeting for Peace."
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A suicide prevention sign is seen on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in 2008. Catholic ministry leaders shared with OSV News pastoral strategies for preventing suicide, as the nation observes Suicide Prevention Month in September. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

‘We need to talk about suicide,’ says Catholic mental health expert

As National Suicide Prevention Month draws to a close, a Catholic mental health expert told OSV News that open, ongoing conversations about suicide are crucial.
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Abbé Pierre, a well-known activist for the poor and the homeless who died in 2007 at the age of 94, is pictured in this Oct. 3, 2002, file photo. French Catholics were shocked to learn July 17, 2024 of the "sexual assault or sexual harassment" allegations against the famed priest. (OSV News photo/Philippe Wojazer, Reuters)

French bishops urge Vatican to help investigate Abbé Pierre

As the Emmaus Community for the poor investigates accusations of sexual abuse against its once-iconic, now disgraced, founder Abbé Pierre, the case made international headlines as Pope Francis commented on it while on his return voyage to Rome from Asia ...
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