OSV News

Pope Leo XIV turns 70 on Sept. 14 and some of his closest friends in the Chicago-area will mark the day with him in mind, quietly.

A tourist itinerary connecting dozens of landmarks associated with Pope Leo XIV's decades-long mission in Peru was launched in July by the South American country's government, in a joint effort with the church and the tourism industry to draw national and international visitors.

Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia said, "the truth is that we are in the Lord's hands and His truth will prevail."

"Unnecessary raids, mass detentions, and family separations betray the values of our nation and the Gospel," Kansas bishops wrote in a joint pastoral letter on immigration.

Some immigrant religious workers are facing legal limbo, and Catholic advocates are pushing the Trump administration to address the backlog in their visa category.

Nicaragua's ruling Sandinista regime has seized a prominent Catholic school, claiming without proof that it had operated a "torture" center during past protests and renaming the education facility for a slain partisan.

"Members of the German bishops' conference and Central Committee of German Catholics have adopted a guide for pastoral workers on blessing couples not married in church — they've recommended diocesan bishops proceed in accordance with its spirit," explained Matthias Kopp, spokesman for the German bishops.

Since it was created in 1980, more than 3 million refugees have been welcomed to America through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, known as USRAP. That changed on Jan. 20 of this year when President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled, "Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program."

Every corner bears the marks of a deepening humanitarian catastrophe: gaunt faces of children, long lines at makeshift aid points, and parents who have nothing left to give but words of comfort and prayer.

A Canadian court has ruled a Canadian diocesan priest can continue his civil suit against fellow Basilian Fr. Thomas Rosica and the Basilian Fathers of Toronto, with the plaintiff, Fr. Michael Bechard, seeking damages for alleged sexual abuse by Rosica.

Before the service, a new bell donated by U.S. Catholics rang out for the first time in one of the two bell towers of Urakami Cathedral, replacing a bell that had been destroyed in the bombing.

In this Jubilee Year, the CCCB deems it appropriate for creditors to cancel debts "that oppress and hold back integral human development."

The pontiff is viewed more favorably across party lines, although "consistent with the ideological differences in his ratings, he is liked better by Democrats than Republicans."

While comparison has been made to the 2019 fire that devastated Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Cordoba's Mayor José María Bellido said on television that "the monument is saved."

The Archdiocese of Newark has settled two claims of sexual abuse against retired Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, dating back more than 50 years — when he was a priest in Jersey City — the lawyer for the plaintiffs announced on Aug. 6.

As the world marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Catholic Church must renew its commitment to nonviolence, disarmament and lasting peace, said U.S. prelates attending commemoration events in Japan.

Ahead of his third "Pilgrimage of Peace" to Japan to mark the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, Archbishop John Wester spoke with OSV News about the current state of nuclear risk, and efforts to disarm the world of nuclear weapons.

Bishop Mark E. Brennan urged people of his state to "affirm the humanity of all immigrants." He also called on every person to "pray for the courage to do the right thing," including those tasked with carrying out the nation's laws.

A Catholic monastery built in Nagasaki by a future martyr and saint survived and to this day brings a Franciscan message of peace to a place that could easily plunge into hatred and despair.