Gina Christian

Slightly more than half of U.S. adults surveyed still identify with their childhood religion. For Catholics, retention rates tend to be significantly lower than for other faiths, according to Pew.

Amid immigration raids in Louisiana, dozens gathered at a New Orleans church for a candlelight vigil, praying for both those detained and for law enforcement officials. The Dec. 9 service was held at Holy Name of Jesus Church in New Orleans, located on the campus of Loyola University.

Amid immigration detention sweeps in Louisiana — part of an ongoing nationwide campaign by the Trump administration — Bishop Michael Duca of Baton Rouge has issued a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass for those concerned for their safety.

 "In recent years, despite strong leadership and ongoing investment, Franciscan Media has encountered the same challenges facing Catholic and Christian publishing ministries," the outlet formerly known as St. Anthony Messenger said.

"I give thanks to God who has sustained me through this journey," Cardinal Robert McElroy said. "And I give thanks to all of you who have prayed to God for my healing. I believe those prayers were what led to this wonderful outcome."

"As Catholics, we believe that every person is beloved by God and created in his image," said Bishop Daniel Garcia. "Each child of God has value and dignity."

Pope Leo XIV's childhood home just outside of Chicago has been declared a historic landmark.

"As a nation, we know in our hearts that we can and should do better. As Christians, we must," said Bishop Michael Fisher of Buffalo, New York.

A former business manager at a suburban Philadelphia parish has been charged with stealing more than $1.1 million, allegedly diverting funds through his private companies while billing the parish as a subcontractor.

A high school student attending the event said it was "really cool" to see Leo on the livestream and he answered "questions that I'd been holding in my heart."

OSV News spoke with Bishop Daniel Garcia of Austin, Texas, moments after the Nov. 20 announcement of his appointment as the inaugural chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation.

Prominent Catholic philosophical and legal scholar Robert George has resigned from the board of the conservative Heritage Foundation, saying he "could not remain" without its president fully retracting a video defending a controversial interview, platforming a leading white supremacist, that has split conservatives over the issue of antisemitism.

Catholic bishops in the Caribbean are calling for dialogue, cooperation and calm amid rising geopolitical tensions that have seen a U.S. military buildup in the region. Such tensions compound a number of ongoing crises in several Caribbean nations, several of which are now also grappling with extensive damage from Hurricane Melissa.

The U.S. Supreme Court has moved to temporarily block full payments necessary to fund SNAP, a program providing food support to millions of Americans with low incomes, after the Trump administration asked the court to hear its request to issue only partial payments in November.

A former director of stewardship and development for the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese has been arrested and charged with theft. Federal prosecutors allege he stole more than $150,000 using his diocesan credit card.

"It does not matter whether some of our brothers and sisters have proper documentation or not," Archbishop Alexander Sample declared in a Nov. 8 statement. "They are our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ."

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See's U.N. apostolic nuncio and permanent observer, delivered two statements on the issue Oct. 27 and Oct. 30 at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Ahead of the United Nations' annual climate conference, two U.S. Catholic bishops and the leader of a top Catholic aid agency are calling for urgent, long-term action to safeguard both creation and humanity.

Bishop Timothy C. Senior of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, condemned a local Catholic school's use of a prominent Nazi symbol on a float in a community Halloween parade.

Attorneys for the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, have moved to voluntarily dismiss a lawsuit they had filed against the federal government regarding visas for religious workers — a case that highlights the perfect storm created by the nation's shifting immigration policies and the increased reliance on international clergy by the Catholic Church in the United States amid a downturn in domestic vocations to the priesthood.