Kate Scanlon

An analysis from the Congressional Budget Office said the tax provisions in the House version would increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion over a decade, 

In a letter to mark the 10th anniversary of the late Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', U.S. bishops have urged young people to "lead the way" on the climate crisis.

Catholic Relief Services said May 21 that most of its projects under a federal international food aid program were terminated, leaving hundreds of thousands of children more vulnerable to hunger.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance met Louis and Deborah Prevost at the White House on May 20. Louis Prevost, the older brother of Pope Leo XIV, has described himself as a "MAGA type."

Catholic immigration advocates said they were "disturbed" by a Supreme Court order allowing the Trump administration to end legal protections from deportation for about 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants. The Venezuelans, a typically Catholic population, were permitted to remain in the United States without risk of deportation due to dangerous conditions in their homeland.

Planned Parenthood's latest annual report shows an increase in abortions from the previous year's report, while also showing a $100 million increase in government funding amid an overall decrease in cancer screenings and prevention services.

Critics have expressed concern that the new law makes no exception for clergy-penitent privilege. 

As President Donald Trump reached the 100th day of his second term April 29, polls showed decreases in his approval ratings on job performance and key issues, including among Catholics overall.

Legislation that would require clergy to report child abuse or neglect in Washington state was recently approved by the Legislature and has been sent to Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson for his signature.

Catholic leaders and public officials condemned violence and called for peace after an alleged arson attack on the Pennsylvania governor's mansion in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In a statement, Bishop Timothy Senior of Harrisburg called the attack a "heinous act" that "struck at the very heart of our shared values as a society."

The Supreme Court issued a ruling April 7 allowing the Trump administration to continue to deport migrants accused of gang membership using a wartime powers law for now, overturning a lower court that had paused such deportations.

As the Trump administration moved to formally dissolve the U.S. Agency for International Development, Catholic Relief Services, the overseas charitable arm of the Catholic Church in the U.S., has advocated for U.S. foreign aid to continue on a new path shaped by Catholic principles.

The U.S. bishops' conference said it would not renew its cooperative agreements with the federal government related to children's services and refugee support, after its government partnerships in those areas became "untenable."

Representatives of Catholic and immigration advocacy organizations, and Washington's new Cardinal Robert McElroy, grappled with the need to send a clear moral message on the dignity of migrants amid the "uncertainty" of the political moment at a recent event in the nation's capital.

The U.S. should not retreat from its vital role in defending and promoting religious freedom around the globe, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged in a March 25 event unveiling its 2025 annual report. The cover of the report featured Bishop Rolando Álvarez, a Catholic prelate imprisoned and later exiled by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, whose regime has targeted Catholic and other faith communities who voiced opposition to his dictatorship.

"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose," Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Education said March 11 it planned to cut about 50% of its workforce. Such cuts could also impact Catholic education, experts told OSV News.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said March 10 that just 18% of programs of the now-shuttered U.S. Agency for International Development will remain intact, and those will now fall under his purview at the State Department.

As South Carolina prepared to carry out the first execution by firing squad in the U.S. since 2010, Catholic activists against the death penalty had sought clemency from that state's governor.

Rollbacks to USAID have already impacted the work of Catholic Relief Services, the overseas relief and development arm of the Catholic Church in the U.S., and other faith-based entities around the globe that have partnered with USAID in their work abroad.