Franciscan Media

News & Commentary

Al Jazeera reporter Nour Abu Rokba works as Palestinian emergency personnel celebrate in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip

Holy Land patriarch welcomes news of initial peace deal

October 10, 2025
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem welcomed "with joy" the announcement of an initial agreement between Hamas and Israel in an Oct. 9 statement, but also stressed the "absolute urgency" for the "immediate" and "unconditional" entry of humanitarian relief and sufficient ...
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident and Salvadoran national at the center of a high-profile immigration case, appears for a check-in at the ICE Baltimore field office Aug. 25, 2025.

Garcia faces deportation to Uganda after surrendering to immigration authorities

August 26, 2025
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national and Maryland resident at the center of a high-profile immigration case, surrendered to U.S. immigration authorities.
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Pope Leo XIV leads the recitation of the Angelus prayer with visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Aug. 24, 2025.

Pope marks Ukraine’s Independence Day with prayers for peace

August 25, 2025
Marking Ukraine's Independence Day, Pope Leo XIV pledged his prayers for the Ukrainian people in a message to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and encouraged Catholics to respond to Ukrainian religious leaders' request for prayers for peace Aug. 24.
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People attend a vigil in support of immigration detainees at the entrance of "Alligator Alcatraz" Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, detention center at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Fla., Aug. 10, 2025. (OSV New/Marco Bello, Reuters)

More states move to copy ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ amid reports of inhumane conditions

August 22, 2025
A Central American nonprofit center in Florida reports one of its client family members -- despite having an active asylum claim and no criminal record -- was recently detained on his way to work and sent to Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz."
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Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Aug. 18, 2025. (OSV News photo/Reuters)

Ukraine church tensions surface in wake of Alaska summit

August 21, 2025
Ukrainian religious leaders have rejected demands for Russia's Orthodox Church and language to be guaranteed official status in their country, although a Catholic bishop also warned against a threatened crackdown on Orthodox communities.
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A man in a wheelchair talks to a nurse at the palliative care unit of the Clinic Saint-Elisabeth in Marseille, France, May 31, 2024. In an Aug. 13, 2025, statement The Uruguay bishops' conference expressed sadness after the country's lower house of Congress approved a bill decriminalizing euthanasia. (OSV News photo/Manon Cruz, Reuters)

Uruguay bishops express sadness over euthanasia vote

August 20, 2025
The Uruguay bishops' conference expressed sadness after the country's lower house of Congress approved a bill decriminalizing euthanasia.
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El Papa León XIV celebra la Misa con personas asistidas por la agencia diocesana de Cáritas en el Santuario de Santa Maria della Rotonda en Albano Laziale, Italia, 17 de agosto de 2025. (Foto CNS/Lola Gomez)

Burn with ‘fire’ of God’s love, pope says at Mass, lunch with the poor

August 19, 2025
Spending the day with the poor, Pope Leo XIV prayed that Catholics would make sure their parishes are welcoming of all people and would be "on fire" with God's love.
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