OSV News

The conspiracy lured players to intentionally underperform while fixers raked in profits from sports betting, authorities said.

As anti-government protests in Iran continue despite an internet blackout and the use of lethal force against demonstrators, Pope Leo XIV expressed his concern over the escalating situation.

Although individual accounts are by now familiar to many, the purpose of the hearing, said commission chair Vicky Hartzler, a former congresswoman from Missouri and an evangelical Christian, was to draw attention to what she called "a dark picture for religious freedom."

Each year, the annual Marian procession of the "Divina Pastora" ("Divine Shepherdess") draws millions of pilgrims and devotees in Venezuela. The Jan. 14 procession, however, was of particular significance following the United States' capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores Jan. 3.

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.

"Ever since the deadly shooting of Renee Good on Portland Avenue last Wednesday, I find myself googling 'Minneapolis' every few hours to learn of the latest developments in a situation that truly tears at the heart," wrote Hebda in his Weekly Word newsletter.

According to the decree, Leo has established that from Jan. 10, following the closing of the church's Jubilee Year, until Jan. 10, 2027, a special Year of St. Francis may be proclaimed, in which every Christian, "following the example of the Saint of Assisi, may himself become a model of holiness of life and a constant witness of peace."

It's a moment many displaced Venezuelans in the U.S. and other countries in the Western Hemisphere have been dreaming about for years, and it arrived in the early morning of Jan. 3, beginning about 2 a.m. local time.
 

Pope Leo XIV embraced the youth of Rome — both literally and with his words — during a Jan. 10 meeting with the young people of the Diocese of Rome, telling them to choose real relationships over digital isolation.

Pope Leo XIV strongly condemned the Church's failure to welcome survivors of sexual abuse, calling it a "scandal" that deepens their suffering, even though the issue was not a main topic at the Jan. 7-8 extraordinary consistory in Rome.

An interfaith gathering of faith leaders in Minneapolis Jan. 8 drew a crowd as faith leaders raised concerns about the impact immigration enforcement actions are having on people in the community, including Catholic parishes in Minneapolis.

Victims of abuse are cautiously optimistic regarding an agreement between the Catholic Church and the Spanish government that would seek to provide reparations to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The Trump administration's plans to acquire Greenland for the U.S. are being met with concern, sometimes fear and "a quiet strength" by residents, said the Arctic island's only Catholic parish priest.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a Dec. 23 motion seeking to have several counts dismissed in a lawsuit alleging "decades" of sexual abuse against minors by clergy, men and women religious, archdiocesan employees and other affiliated persons.

"Following this morning's deadly shooting in Minneapolis, I reiterate my plea for all people of good will to join me in prayer for the person who was killed, for their loved ones, and for our community," Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in a statement following the incident.

"This will be our way of proceeding," the pontiff began, "being attentive to the heart, mind and spirit of each; listening to one other; expressing only the main point and in a succinct manner, so that all can speak."

Just a few days before the Jan. 3 U.S. strikes on — and temporary takeover of — Venezuela, the Catholic bishops of several Caribbean nations had repeated their earlier plea for peace while expressing support for the Venezuelan people, amid a pre-attack buildup of U.S. military in the region.

Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester and named as his successor Bishop John Bonnici, currently auxiliary bishop of New York.

While providing no specifics, the Vatican said the consistory is taking place "within the context of the life and mission of the church, and intends to strengthen the communion between the Bishop of Rome and the cardinals, who are called to collaborate in a particular way in solicitude for the good of the universal church."

The "extensive media outreach" — which includes some two dozen secular outlets in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas — is part of the archdiocese's "commitment to the nonmonetary provisions laid out in its Chapter 11 settlement plan," said the press release.