OSV News

In a quiet but powerful move, Vatican News has begun removing artwork by Fr. Marko Rupnik — the once-renowned mosaicist now accused of abusing over two dozen women — from its website. His mosaics, long used to mark major feast days online, were recently replaced or left blank — a shift many survivors say is long overdue.

Parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York, are set to pay a total of $80 million into the diocese's $150 million bankruptcy settlement, with the funds due to be paid into a trust by July 15.

"AI systems must have human oversight and well-defined accountability in order to promote transparency, and fair democratic processes," they wrote. 

An expansive garden sitting on a third of an acre of parish property at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Frankford, the mission church of St. Ann Parish in Bethany Beach, serves neighbors in need within the boundaries of both churches and is the only one of its kind in the Wilmington Diocese.

The New York Senate has voted to legalize medically assisted suicide, a move that one Catholic bioethicist told OSV News marked "a dark day" for the state's residents, and the act will now head to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Protests broke out on June 6 after several raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which along with Customs and Border Protection is the law enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

At issue is what the diocese's legal counsel described in an Aug. 16, 2024, statement as an unlawful and unconstitutional alteration of how visa availability is calculated for certain noncitizens, which creates "profound immigration delays for noncitizen religious workers."

The U.S. Catholic bishops' latest annual report on child and youth protection shows abuse allegations continue to decline, but authors warned of the dangers of complacency.

"Just yesterday, I had three new ones," one vocations director said. "I'm used to getting maybe three in three months."

Teaser: "It is in their (the Trump administration's) interest to push the higher numbers to justify a mass deportation campaign," J. Kevin Appleby said.

If Donald Trump succeeds in ending the policy, "It would be like stealing his future, the future that we came to the United States to seek."

The Washington State Catholic Conference previously supported a version of the legislation to make clergy mandatory reporters that did include an exception.

“The death penalty is no longer necessary to protect society — and more importantly, it is morally indefensible,” Bishop Estévez said.

The president's proclamation says nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will no longer be admitted.

Pope Leo may bring unique insight to the problem of polarization in the U.S. and in the U.S. church, analysts say.

The late Archbishop John Vlazny's "love for the priesthood and his own episcopal ministry was evident at all times," Archbishop Sample said.

Zubik, a native of Pennsylvania, has headed the Pittsburgh Diocese since 2007.

In July, a state judge denied the effort to shut down the nonprofit, arguing the state's case violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, among other issues. 

As the Trump administration cracks down on foreign student visas, Catholic universities like Fordham, Notre Dame and Santa Clara say they are actively seeking to support affected students.

On Jan. 22, 1974, the first anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which enshrined abortion on demand as a constitutional right, Villanova students, including the future Pope Leo XIV, were part of a pro-life demonstration at Independence Mall in Philadelphia.