Franciscan Media

News & Commentary

Pope Leo XIV is seen speaking to journalists outside the Palazzo Barberini in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, in a screen shot from a video taken Nov. 4, 2025.

Pope answers questions about migrants, Venezuela, Rupnik trial

November 6, 2025
Speaking with reporters November 4 outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo responded to questions about migrants, the situation in Venezuela, and the trial of Father Marko Rupnik.
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Pope Leo XIV, in a screen grab from a video recorded in the Villa Barberini at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, calls on Christian communities to support those struggling with suicidal thoughts.

Pope’s prayer intention is for those struggling with suicidal thoughts

November 5, 2025
Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics to join him in praying for those who struggle with suicidal thoughts, and for all people "who live in darkness and despair."
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A woman holds a sign during "A Rally for SNAP" on the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston Oct. 28, 2025, ahead of the expected Nov. 1 suspension of SNAP food assistance benefits because of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

After judge’s order, Trump administration to issue partial SNAP payments

November 4, 2025
The Trump administration has indicated that it will not appeal court orders directing it to pay SNAP benefits, but that it will only issue partial payments in November.
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Mourners gather for the funeral of members of the Abu Dalal family in Nuseirat, in central Gaza Strip, Oct. 29, 2025, who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on their home, according to medics. (OSV News photo/Mahmoud Issa, Reuters)

With Gaza situation fragile, Christian’s presence in Holy Land ‘threatened’

October 31, 2025
In the Gaza Strip, the fragile calm following the Oct. 13 Israel-Hamas peace deal has brought little relief to the enclave's small Christian community.
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A handout photograph, shot in January 2024, shows women and babies at the Zamzam displacement camp, close to el-Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan. (OSV News photo/Mohamed Zakaria, MSF handout via Reuters) Editors: THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT

With thousands trapped in Sudan, Catholic leaders amplify calls to end war

October 30, 2025
As a paramilitary group announced the capture of el-Fasher, the besieged capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, Catholic Church leaders amplified calls for the protection of "forgotten" civilians.
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A person poses with a dose of Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine in this illustration photo taken in Schwenksville, Pa., Oct. 2, 2025. (OSV News photo/Hannah Beier, Reuters)

Despite policy changes, COVID-19 vaccines may hold promising new uses

October 29, 2025
Amid policy changes governing their use, and as research suggests promising new uses for messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccine technology, COVID-19 vaccines have become available ahead of cold and flu season.
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Vatican | Photo by Caleb Miller on Unsplash

How Doctors of the Church Are Chosen

October 28, 2025
(OSV News) — With Pope Leo XIV set to proclaim of St. John Henry Newman as a doctor of the church Nov. 1, let’s consider what criterion is used to make this decision, whether a layperson could be named a doctor ...
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