Kate Scanlon

Catholic and evangelical leaders issued an ecumenical statement Oct. 13 as part of a joint effort to call for compassionate immigration reform.

President Donald Trump on Oct. 15 called off Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's plans to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad in December.

President Donald Trump revived baseless claims surrounding Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, during an Oct. 12 campaign rally in the state. In remarks at his Youngstown rally, Trump appeared to allude to unfounded allegations he made in 2024 that Haitian migrants, who had legal authorization to be living and working there, were eating pets in Springfield. 

In the first case of its new term Oct. 5, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit from officials in Boulder, Colorado, against two major oil companies over climate change.

After a failed attempt to execute death row inmate Christa Gail Pike on Sept. 30, a number of faith leaders have called for her sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment.

A statement from the Department of Defense said it "is elevating spiritual readiness as a core element of combat effectiveness with the establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs ..."

The high court has temporarily allowed the Trump administration to carry out removals to a country where a person who had migrated to the United States has no ties while a challenge to that policy continues.

After a man was shot and wounded by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 20, Bishop Daniel Garcia denounced the shooting and called for "a viable immigration policy that respects the rule of law while recognizing the dignity of every person."

More than a dozen U.S. bishops met with members of Congress on Sept. 16 to urge lawmakers to enact effective safety guardrails on artificial intelligence and to advocate for the passage of a bill that aims to protect children online.

President Donald Trump's new appointees to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom include Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, the commission said Sept. 16. Spokespersons for USCRIF and other religious freedom advocates previously told OSV News they were eager for Trump to make nominations to the commission after several previous commissioners reached the end of their terms in May.

Detainees at Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" were held in outdoor cages about the same size as telephone booths, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General.

Theologians and representatives of Catholic advocacy organizations and religious orders described pastoral challenges of some hardline immigration enforcement policies as among the concerns Catholics should consider.

"[T]the Church's objection  … is an effort to stop the State from compelling Catholic health care providers to violate their conscience," Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said in a statement.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, two orders of nuns, and a pharmacist sued Illinois Sept. 3 over the state's physician-assisted suicide law, which permits physicians to aid terminally ill adults in dying by suicide.

Hundreds of faith leaders and organizations urged the Trump administration to extend Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador before it expires in September. A TPS designation grants the U.S. government the power to shield eligible migrants from deportation if they are from countries experiencing dangerous conditions such as war, disaster, or other unrest. 

The Catholic bishops of Florida issued a staunch defense of their ability to determine policies for Catholic schools after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent them a letter demanding that Catholic schools in the Sunshine State adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements or risk their ability to participate in the state's school voucher program.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to the Catholic bishops of Florida demanding that Catholic schools in the Sunshine State adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements or risk their ability to participate in the state's school voucher program.

The groups sued the state July 17, arguing the law would require them to facilitate such deaths for their patients in violation of their faith.

Before Florida executed two inmates in one day July 28, the Catholic bishops of that state issued a pastoral letter urging Catholics to reflect on the Church's moral opposition to the practice.

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops on July 21 urged Gov. Ron DeSantis to stay two executions scheduled for July 28.