News & Commentary

Thousands of young Poles make their way through the streets of Czestochowa, Poland, July 19, 2025, singing and praying as they approached the Jasna Góra Marian shrine. This year's annual pilgrimage and camp marked the 25th anniversary of the Foundation "Dzielo Nowego Tysiaclecia" (Work of the New Millennium), a vibrant "living memorial" to St. John Paul II, supporting talented youth from underprivileged backgrounds. (OSV News photo/courtesy Sara Janikowska, Work of the New Millennium)

Poland’s memorial to St. John Paul II marks 25 years of transforming lives

Thousands of young Poles made their way through the streets of Częstochowa July 19, singing and praying as they approached the Jasna Góra Marian shrine.
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This is a screenshot of "Father Justin," an AI chatbot simulating a priest in order to answer questions for teaching apostolate Catholic Answers. Catholic Answers executives told OSV News April 24, 2024, they are not discouraged from pursuing AI projects following the troubled April 23 launch of "Father Justin," who was "laicized" hours later to "Justin" after his responses to questions about the faith sparked social media furor. (OSV News screenshot/Catholic Answers)

Catholic Answers ‘no less resolved’ to use AI after ‘Father Justin’ brouhaha

Executives from the apologetics nonprofit Catholic Answers told OSV News they remain committed to exploring artificial intelligence after the launch of the group's "Father Justin" AI project sparked intense backlash online -- and resulted in the character's swift "laicization" to ...
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Jorge Granados, aka El Spanky, blesses Cristal, his image of La Santa Muerte, with beer Jan. 1, 2024, as he prepares for an annual pilgrimage from Ecatepec, Mexico, to the shrine of La Santa Muerte in Mexico City's Tepito neighborhood. Mexico's bishops criticized the use of an image of Santa Muerte, or St. Death, in political advertising during the presidential campaigns. (OSV News photo/Gustavo Graf, Reuters)

Mexico’s bishops denounce use of Santa Muerte in political advertising

Mexico's bishops have blasted the use of the folkloric La Santa Muerte by the country's ruling party as a distortion of the nation's "fundamental values" ahead of presidential and local elections, which have been marred by violence and the killing ...
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Christians attend a Sunday service at a church in Chibok, Nigeria, April 7, 2024. Nigerian soldiers fired upon students who were protesting the relentless attacks on Christian villages in Nigeria April 18 and 19, according to the British nongovernmental organization Release International. (OSV News photo/Temilade Adelaja, Reuters)

Nigerian military under fire for continued attacks on Christians

Nigerian soldiers fired upon students who were protesting the relentless attacks on Christian villages in Nigeria, according to the British nongovernmental organization Release International.
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A homeless couple moves their belongings to the side of a freeway on land under state jurisdiction, after being evicted from a downtown location on the side of a city street, in San Diego, Feb. 26, 2024. (OSV News photo/Mike Blake, Reuters)

Passions flare as Supreme Court hears case with impact on homelessness policy

The Supreme Court on April 22 heard a case concerning the constitutionality of local laws that ban public camping and their impact on people who are homeless.
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The flag of Ukraine is seen outside St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Riverhead, N.Y., in 2021. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

‘Prayer’ behind passage of U.S. aid to Ukraine bill, say Ukrainian Catholics

Ukrainian Catholics in the U.S. are breathing a sigh of relief and prayers of gratitude, after a bill for aid to Ukraine cleared the House of Representatives following months of delay, political infighting and even openly anti-Ukrainian sentiment among some ...
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Helena Kmiec, Polish lay missionary is seen in a 2013 photograph in Zambia's Kulanga Bwana Farm when she volunteered in service with poorest children from the streets. Poland's church is seeking the beatification of a young lay missionary, who was stabbed to death in a bungled robbery shortly after starting work with Catholic nuns at a children's home in Bolivia in 2017. (OSV News photo/courtesy Helena Kmiec Foundation)

Murdered Polish Missionary Begins ‘Path to Sainthood’

Poland’s church is seeking the beatification of a young lay missionary, who was stabbed to death in a bungled robbery shortly after starting work with Catholic nuns at a children’s home in Bolivia in 2017.
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