Kate Scanlon

An Indigenous coalition filed an updated lawsuit in federal district court in Phoenix on April 22, their latest attempt to block a land transfer including their sacred site at Oak Flat, Arizona, and protect the site from destruction by a copper mining giant.

The survey was conducted April 8-16, 2026, following Pope Leo XIV's declaration that President Donald Trump's threat April 7 to destroy Iran's civilization was "truly unacceptable," and in the midst of Trump's tirades against the U.S.-born pope over his opposition to the Iran war that started April 12 and lasted several days.

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House April 16 that he does not see a meeting with Pope Leo XIV as "necessary" after the president lashed out at the pontiff on social media and in verbal remarks over the pontiff's opposition to the Iran war over the course of several days starting April 12.

"I would line myself up with Pope Leo, who has been urging for negotiation," Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, told "Face the Nation."

Trump's presence for oral arguments in the case, Trump v. Barbara, marked the first time a sitting president has attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court, according to records from the high court and the nonprofit Supreme Court Historical Society.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments March 24 in a case concerning reimplementing a policy that would block asylum-seekers from setting foot on U.S. soil, where federal law would then allow them to seek asylum.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended the role of religion in public life during comments March 19 at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced late March 16 that it will hear oral arguments in April on whether the Trump administration can end a program temporarily shielding eligible Haitians living in the U.S. from deportation.

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, called for an end to mass deportation and redoubled efforts to show solidarity with those affected by that policy in a new pastoral message released March 15.

Amid a spike in measles cases in the U.S., an infectious diseases specialist, who is also a Catholic deacon, told OSV News that the church "has recommended measles vaccination to safeguard the health of children and families."

Noem's tenure as head of DHS was marked by controversial efforts to enforce the president's hardline immigration policies, some of which have deeply concerned Catholic immigration advocates.

President Trump's decision to initiate major combat operations against Iran in concert with Israel has raised debate within Congress over its war powers prerogatives.

A Catholic legal network and other opponents of the Trump administration's suspension of immigration from 75 countries are calling into question a key claim the government made in support of that policy.

The statement from 20 U.S. prelates called for the restoration of asylum in the immigration system, particularly at the border, and an end to intimidation and fear tactics in enforcement efforts.

The Holy See "will not participate" in President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" for Gaza, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said Feb. 17, citing "points that leave us somewhat perplexed."

A group including Catholic organizations announced Jan. 21 a new partnership — The Catholic Immigrant Prophetic Action Project — that aims to assist the Catholic Church in the U.S. in organizing a robust response on behalf of migrants and refugees in the country, including those with legal status, who are affected by mass deportation efforts.

The Department of Homeland Security said Jan. 14 it issued an interim final rule reducing wait times for religious worker visas. Catholic advocates were among those who pushed the Trump administration to address the backlog in their visa category.

Although there was a significant increase in executions in the U.S. in 2025, a smaller number of new death sentences was imposed, a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center found.

A prayer service outside the Washington headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Dec. 12 paid homage to Mary and showed support for "our immigrant brothers and sisters," organizers said.

Despite an uptick in executions in the U.S. in 2025, opponents of the death penalty lauded decreases in new death sentences and waning public support for the practice during comments at a Dec. 3 press event announcing a new coalition called the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty.