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The Vatican City flag flies July 18 at Holy Family Church in Gaza City which was hit in an Israeli strike July 17, killing three and injuring 10. Holy Family is the only Catholic church in Gaza City, and it has sheltered Muslims and Christians during the war. (OSV News/Reuters/Khamis Al-Rifi)

Holy Family shelling strikes symbolic and humanitarian nerve

News

 U.S. Catholic institutions and peace advocates condemned and mourned the deadly strike, calling for an immediate ceasefire, protection of civilians, and accountability for the attack that killed three and injured 10. 

The Latest

United Church of Christ synod denounces ICE raids as 'domestic terrorism'

Rachel Berkebile, Religion News Service

Be fully present to God in the sunrise and sunset

Carolyn Ancell
Columns

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Going beyond acceptable limits

Mary M. McGlone

Editors' Choice

Pope Leo XIV waves after arriving in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 6, 2025. (OSV News/CPP/Alessia Giuliani)

In Focus

James Carville says Pope Leo XIV's election brought 'immense amount of joy'

I have, after 80 years, felt something that I never thought I would in this century as a Roman Catholic. I feel optimistic. I feel renewed. I feel bright about the future of the Catholic Church.

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Most Read Stories

#1
Vicar known for LGBTQ+ ministry named Oregon bishop

At age 47, Bishop-designate Thomas Hennen will be the youngest bishop leading a U.S. diocese. Hennen's ministry to LGBTQ+ people has seen mixed reactions about his pastoral approach.

ByAleja Hertzler-McCain, Religion News Service
Pope Leo in green vestments

#2
Where did Pope Leo get that suit? Chicago, of course

The vestments, created by the House of Hansen in former Cardinal Robert Prevost's hometown, were made of an ecclesiastical damask by the brand Da Vinci.

ByGina Christian, OSV News
Pope Leo XIV waves after arriving in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 6, 2025. (OSV News/CPP/Alessia Giuliani)
Guest Voices

#3
James Carville says Pope Leo XIV's election brought 'immense amount of joy'

I have, after 80 years, felt something that I never thought I would in this century as a Roman Catholic. I feel optimistic. I feel renewed. I feel bright about the future of the Catholic Church.

ByJames Carville

#4
The new Mass 'for the care of creation' is a mixed bag

#5
Filling in our portrait of Pope Leo XIV, looking for clues to the future

#6
New Vatican document calls Catholics to move forward together for synodality

Opinion

Did Satan send us social media?

Is natural law making a comeback?

Catholic Harlem is a gift to (and from) the global church

Guest Voices

Félix Cepeda on his experience of the cultural interplay present in the heart and faith of Black Manhattan.

A view on the first US pope: Leo XIV can guide us to use AI for good

Guest Voices

Who really wins now that churches can endorse political candidates?

Art Laffin, center, of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, participates in a protest for peace with other demonstrators outside of the White House April 15, 2016. (CNS/Chaz Muth)

'Humanity and weapons cannot coexist,' peace activist Art Laffin says

This week on "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," John Dear welcomes Art Laffin, longtime peace activist, author and Catholic Worker: "War has become normalized, so we have to stand for life wherever it is threatened."

Vatican

Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Church; Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III visit the Holy Family Church in Gaza City July 18. A day earlier, the Israeli army struck the church in an attack that killed three and injured others. (CNS/Courtesy Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)

Netanyahu calls pope, expresses regret over Gaza church strike that killed 3

Pope Leo XIV called for a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza. The Israeli strike July 17 hit the Holy Family Catholic Church compound that Pope Francis called daily from the start of the war until he died.

Priest convicted of distributing, possessing child pornography said to still work at Vatican

Msgr. Carlo Alberto Capella, a former Vatican diplomat who was convicted of distributing and possessing child pornography, continues to work at the Vatican Secretariat of State as one of several clerks, a report says.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News
What will the pope be doing for six weeks?
The Leo Chronicles

The Leo Chronicles: Preparing

The Leo Chronicles: What will the pope be doing for six weeks?

ByPat Marrin

Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors' new president 'pioneer in his field,' French lawyer says

Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, France, made international headlines as he succeeded one of the most acclaimed figures of church safeguarding in the world, Cardinal Sean O'Malley — retired archbishop of Boston — in his role as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. 

ByOSV News

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Pope celebrates Mass in parish church with special ties to his Augustinian order

AI must have ethical management, regulation protecting human person, pope says

Vatican News

Ukraine's Zelenskyy meets with Pope Leo XIV. Both propose the Vatican as site for peace talks.

Brazil's environment minister fights fellow evangelicals on Amazon protection

Attacks from the religious right on Marina Silva, a Pentecostal and longtime environmentalist, expose the rifts within Brazil's evangelical movement as the Amazon's future hangs in the balance.

From Boston to Baton Rouge, faithful unite to help Texas flood victims

From Boston to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, faithful across the nation are reaching out to bring material and spiritual aid to those impacted by the devastating July 4 flash floods in the Texas Hill Country.

ByGina Christian, OSV News
From left: Benedictine Srs. Helen Mueting, Helga Leija and Esther Fangman on the day of Leija's profession of vows. Leija wore a brand new suit found among the donations at the "R" store. (Courtesy of Helga Leija)
Columns

As Benedictines, we are clothed by the Rule, not fast fashion

St. Benedict writes, "Let those who receive the clothing not complain about its color or coarseness, but accept what is given them." That's a hard teaching in a world like ours, where we're told to consume constantly.

By
Ethan Clark, a parishioner and volunteer with the Notre Dame Parish relief distribution center in Kerrville, Texas, unloads buckets from a truck of donations that will be used to store the items for emergency cleanup kits. (GSR photo/Gregg Brekke)

In aftermath of deadly Texas floods, local Catholics offer rapid response

Daughter of Charity Sr. Denise LaRock is one of the many people working tirelessly with Catholic groups to help Texas Hill Country residents affected by the deadly July 4 floods.

ByGregg Brekke

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Politics

NYC Catholics applaud congestion pricing, but Trump wants to hit the brakes

Chicago Catholics start environmental justice group in response to flooding, pollution

Pope prays for conversion of those resisting climate action at new Mass

Culture

Around 15,000 pilgrims attended the inaugural Marian Days celebration July 1-2, 2022, at Our Lady of La Vang Shrine, Christ Cathedral, in Garden Grove, Orange County, California. (Courtesy of Orange Diocese)

A Vietnamese Marian shrine in California has miracle stories to tell

A new documentary, "Our Lady at the Center," tells the story of the miracles, large and small, behind the shrine of Our Lady of La Vang in Orange County, California.

Rain clouds form during sunset in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 31, 2020. Jesuit Fr. Francis X. Clooney's time in Nepal "fundamentally shaped the rest of his career," writes Greta Gaffin. (CNS/Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar)

Jesuit Fr. Francis Clooney shares insight through scholarly, spiritual memoir

Clooney dedicated his life to the study of Catholicism and Hinduism, driven by a passion for fostering knowledge of Hindu belief and practice among Westerners. His memoir offers insight into a priest's life and devotion.

ByGreta Gaffin
"Jurassic World Rebirth" is a science fiction tale about the hubris of humanity and our attempts to wrest control of nature away from God. It's also great cinema. (Universal Pictures)

Mad science, survival and wonder: The 'Jurassic' franchise comes home

"Jurassic World Rebirth" is a science fiction tale about the hubris of humanity and our attempts to wrest control of nature away from God. It's also great cinema.

ByKevin Christopher Robles
Benicio del Toro plays businessman Zsa-zsa Korda, and Mia Threapleton plays his estranged daughter, a nun named Liesl, in Wes Anderson's "The Phoenician Scheme." (TPS Productions)

Wes Anderson gets spiritual with 'The Phoenician Scheme'

Wes Anderson's new film reminds us that one of life's greatest miracles is the ability for the human heart to change.

ByZachary Lee

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Book Reviews

Religion and 1980s pop culture go head-to-head in new book

Playfulness is a powerful tool for healing in the music of Corook

'It's Dorothy!': The LGBTQ+ community and its beloved 'Wizard of Oz' icon

From left: Benedictine Srs. Helen Mueting, Helga Leija and Esther Fangman on the day of Leija's profession of vows. Leija wore a brand new suit found among the donations at the "R" store. (Courtesy of Helga Leija)
Columns

As Benedictines, we are clothed by the Rule, not fast fashion

St. Benedict writes, "Let those who receive the clothing not complain about its color or coarseness, but accept what is given them." That's a hard teaching in a world like ours, where we're told to consume constantly.

Ethan Clark, a parishioner and volunteer with the Notre Dame Parish relief distribution center in Kerrville, Texas, unloads buckets from a truck of donations that will be used to store the items for emergency cleanup kits. (GSR photo/Gregg Brekke)

In aftermath of deadly Texas floods, local Catholics offer rapid response

Daughter of Charity Sr. Denise LaRock is one of the many people working tirelessly with Catholic groups to help Texas Hill Country residents affected by the deadly July 4 floods.

ByGregg Brekke
Daughter of Wisdom Sr. Jean Quinn speaks Feb. 10, 2020, at an opening session of the United Nations' Commission on Social Development meeting on homelessness. Quinn is the executive director of UNANIMA International, a U.N.-based coalition of Catholic congregations focused on concerns of women, children, migrants and the environment. (GSR photo/Chris Herlinger)

UNANIMA, prominent sister-led coalition at United Nations, to end its ministry

UNANIMA, a coalition of sister congregations at the United Nations that championed causes such as homelessness, anti-trafficking and women's health, will close by the end of the year.

ByChris Herlinger
Sacred Hert Sr. Deepthi Maria at her office in the Santhwana De-addiction Centre at Kattippara in Kozhikode district, Kerala, southwestern India (George Kommattam)

Sacred Heart nuns help rehabilitate alcoholics in southwestern India

The Santhwana De-Addiction Centre offers a 23-day residential program that combines medical detoxification, psychological counseling and spiritual formation. "We want them to feel human again," says Sr. Vimala Jose.

By

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Sisters find healing, connection, celebration, deep communion at Hope 2025

Q&A with Sr. Chioma Onyenufoh, caring for inmates amid Nigeria's prison crisis

Chiclayo locals hope their Bishop Roberto will stay a 'team builder' as Pope Leo XIV