OSV News

Katie Holler, a Catholic mother of two, had for months been following news of the Trump administration's increasingly hardline immigration policies, but she still remembers when she felt compelled to do something more.

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.

Catholic leaders from around the globe continue to express dismay at the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran. Pope Leo XIV, expanded his March 1 appeal for peace on Monday afternoon while visiting a Roman parish, saying that he was "deeply concerned about what's happening in the world: especially yesterday, today, and for who knows how many more days, in the Middle East."

In a March 1 statement, Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, warned the "growing conflict risks spiraling into a wider regional war."

Catholic clergy are calling for prayer and peace following U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran Feb. 28 that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as senior leaders and civilians.

Bishop Aldo Berardi, apostolic vicar of northern Arabia — who shepherds the estimated 2.2 million Catholics — urged the faithful "to remain calm, united in prayer, and attentive to the safety of everyone."

The Diocese of Syracuse, New York, has formally closed out its long-running bankruptcy, funding a victims' trust with more than $176 million to settle claims.

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.

Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend and several other bishops said Susan Ostermann's support for abortion rights  caused "scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond."

"We are a church that is truly catholic. We have no boundaries. In this church, the true flag is the love of Jesus Christ" Palm Beach Bishop-designate Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez said at his Feb. 24 installation Mass. 

Chieko Noguchi, spokesperson for the USCCB, confirmed to OSV News Feb. 24 that the conference had recovered what it was owed for its refugee resettlement work with the federal government.

In a statement published Feb. 24, the bishops said that during a Nov. 17 audience, the pope spoke with them about "the risks of subjecting faith to ideologies without mentioning any specific group."

Two prominent Catholic cardinals have expressed their profound concern and sorrow over a recently announced decision by the Society of St. Pius X — which rejects the authority of the Second Vatican Council — to ordain bishops this summer without papal approval.

On the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Catholic bishops of the U.S. said "the people of God resist, trust, and pray" despite the "countless deaths and millions of casualties" the brutal conflict has claimed in 12 years of warfare.
 

The German bishops' conference announced that it has elected Bishop Heiner Wilmer of Hildesheim as its next president.

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 Lenten season is a reminder that Christians are called to bear witness to Christ through authentic witness, not self-righteous indignation, Norwegian Trappist Bishop Erik Varden told the pope and Vatican officials.

Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, and the secretary for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, delivered a lecture at Holy Cross College on what he described as a "crisis of immense proportions."

"Like the popes and bishops speaking up to protect God's creation, our Catholic faith calls all of us to bring our values to public life, too," Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis writes.

Pope Leo XIV has renewed his "heartfelt appeal" for an "immediate ceasefire" in Russia's war against Ukraine and again urged dialogue "be strengthened to pave the way toward peace."