News & Commentary

A woman prays as thousands gather at a memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., Sept. 21, 2025.

At memorial, Charlie Kirk’s wife says she forgives alleged shooter

OSV News September 22, 2025

Charlie Kirk was an "influential figure" in his own election, President Donald Trump said at a memorial service for the Turning Point USA founder and conservative activist Sept. 21 at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

A young Sudanese woman who fled the violence in Sudan's Darfur region stands in the yard of a Chadian's family house May 14, 2023. She took refuge at the house in Koufroun, Chad, near the border between that country and Sudan. (OSV News photo/Zohra Bensemra, Reuters)

As refugee numbers rise, Catholic agencies urge more support

OSV News June 21, 2023

On World Refugee Day, organized every year on June 20 by the United Nations, a senior official of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) urged increased support for migrants, as he warned that Sudan's massive human movement due to war risked ...

People mourn the loss of life as they hold a vigil for the victims of the Tree of Life Congregation shooting in Pittsburgh Oct. 27, 2018. At least 11 people were killed and six others wounded, including four police officers, during the shooting at the synagogue. A federal jury June 16, 2023, found 50-year-old Robert Bowers of Baldwin, Pa., guilty of all 63 charges filed against him in the attack. (OSV News photo/John Altdorfer, Reuters)

Synagogue shooter’s conviction ‘sends message’ against antisemitism, say experts

OSV News June 20, 2023

(OSV News) — The conviction of a mass shooter who murdered 11 people and wounded six more at a Pittsburgh synagogue during services “sends a clear message” against antisemitism, while challenging Catholics to ensure such attacks never happen again, experts ...

The Colorado River water runs through Central Arizona Project canals in Pinal County, Ariz., April 9, 2023. A Colorado river water agreement that aims to cut intake in order to prevent a devastating water crisis for people and nature alike provides the Catholic Church an opportunity to engage people with its teaching in "Laudato Si'." (OSV News photo/Rebecca Noble, Reuters)

Catholics In States Affected By Shrinking Colorado River Draw On ‘Laudato Si”

OSV News June 19, 2023

When renowned science fiction author Robert Heinlein wrote in his apocalyptic 1952 short story “The Year of the Jackpot” that “the Colorado River was at a record low and the towers in Lake Mead stood high out of the water.

Pope returns to Vatican, ‘is better than before,’ chief surgeon says

OSV News June 16, 2023

ROME (CNS) — Pope Francis has returned to the Vatican after a nine-day hospital stay and intends to go ahead with his planned trips abroad in August and September, according to his chief surgeon. “The pope is fine. He’s better ...

Pope sends predecessor’s longtime secretary home without assignment

OSV News June 15, 2023

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has directed Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the longtime personal secretary of the late Pope Benedict XVI, to leave the Vatican and return to his home diocese in Germany without a new assignment. Archbishop Gänswein “concluded ...