OSV News

Amid what a Catholic charity called "unimaginable" suffering of civilians trapped in civil war brutality in Sudan, the United States declared that one of the fighting factions is committing genocide in the country and slapped sanctions on its leader.

President Joe Biden used his farewell address to the nation on Jan. 15 to warn against the concentration of power not only in government but also in other elements of society, such as in corporations and the technology industry.

In a statement released Jan. 16 by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land said they hoped the ceasefire "will mark an important end to the violence that has caused immeasurable suffering."
 

Pope Francis has named three U.S. experts — two women and an abbot — to be members of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a position once reserved for cardinals and bishops.

 In comments to New York's PIX11 Morning News on Christmas Eve, Dolan said he will join the opening prayer during the ceremony as he did for Trump's previous inauguration.

A conflagration of almost biblical proportions has killed at least 24, destroyed thousands of homes and numerous churches and schools but has also inspired a groundswell of Catholic support for Southern California's dispossessed.

As he drove frantically past charred buildings along the smoky streets of Altadena in his SUV early on the morning of Jan. 8, Deacon José Luis Díaz had one prayer on his mind: God, please spare my church.

As deadly wildfires ravage Los Angeles, Catholics are mobilizing to help those impacted.

A lawyer for abuse survivors has accused San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of "endangering kids" by allegedly refusing to release the names of credibly accused priests — charges the archdiocese strongly denies, citing its compliance with the church's norms for handling clerical abuse.

Mourners including all five living U.S. presidents attended the late President Jimmy Carter's funeral Jan. 9 at the Washington National Cathedral, the first time they have all been in public together since 2018, and an increasingly rare occurrence in an era of bitter partisanship.

Several Catholic policy experts who spoke with OSV News expressed concern about how the second Trump administration may approach environmental policy.

President Joe Biden has canceled his upcoming trip to Italy, including an audience with Pope Francis, in order to "remain focused on directing the full federal response" in the wake of the devastating wildfires raging in California, the White House said.

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia has announced a new initiative to open hearts, rather than shutter parishes, in countering declining numbers both of faithful and of active priests in an archdiocese he has long called home.

Saying he carried with him the sorrow of the nation for a "horrific act of terrorism" on New Year's Day that claimed the lives of 14 people on Bourbon Street, President Joe Biden told grieving families at an interfaith prayer service Jan. 6 at St. Louis Cathedral that they would one day be released from their shared pain.
 

While "synodality" might be a new concept to Catholics surprised by the Vatican's request that dioceses worldwide engage in community discernment from 2021-2024, the U.S. friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe — humble as they are — would still like to gently remind us it's something Franciscans like themselves have been doing for centuries.

After 10 days of solemn reopening Masses, the cathedral's choir La Maîtrise Notre Dame de Paris gave its first sacred music concert in the renovated French Gothic structure Dec. 17. In the audience was a young French composer Lise Borel, who had brought her entire family with her. 

Several Catholic high schools are mourning former students among the victims of a Jan. 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans.

Looking back, Deacon Ned Berghausen said he realizes God was present even in that time of great suffering. He reflects often, he said, on the date of the tsunami — the feast of St. Stephen, who was the first martyr and one of the first deacons of the early church.

During New Year's Day Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said to turn to the Blessed Mother as a model for hope when unforeseen challenges and tragedies occur.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans offered prayers for victims of what he described as a "sign of utter disrespect for human life" perpetrated by a man who drove a pickup truck through crowds celebrating the New Year in New Orleans' French Quarter.