OSV News

A federal judge July 25 blocked the Biden administration's rule permitting immigration authorities to deny asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking asylum protections in a different country.

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Thomas R. Zinkula of Davenport, Iowa, as the next Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa. Zinkula's installation Mass is scheduled for Oct. 18.

The Justice Department on July 24 sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over a floating barrier recently installed on the Rio Grande, part of the Republican governor's latest attempts to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico as part of his "Operation Lone Star" program.

Catholic bishops in Kenya appealed for an end to violence and for a pivot to dialogue, as scores are killed in anti-government protests.

Catholic migrant advocates condemned a report alleging inhumane treatment of migrants seeking to cross the border into Texas, including an allegation that the state directed its personnel to withhold water from migrants despite extreme heat.

The United States endured a record number of mass killings in the first half of 2023, according to a new analysis. The report came in tandem with news that at least four people were killed in a mass shooting in Hampton, Georgia, south of Atlanta, on July 15.

When the next consistory convenes at the Vatican on Sept. 30, a South Sudanese archbishop -- whose installation met stiff resistance -- will be among the 21 recipients of the red hat.

Two U.S. archbishops are leading a "Pilgrimage of Peace" to Japan, hoping to promote global nuclear disarmament.

The Catholic University of America has requested emergency meetings with Washington police following two recent off-campus attacks that occurred in the days after the killing of a beloved Kentucky teacher during an apparent robbery that took place in front of a university building.

Guatemala's bishops have demanded runoff elections occur as scheduled -- a call coming amid protests over attempts by anti-corruption prosecutors to disqualify a party threatening the country's status quo.

Pope Francis has named four priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese as auxiliary bishops: Msgr. Albert Bahhuth, Capuchin Fr. Matthew Elshoff, Fr. Brian Nunes and Fr. Slawomir Szkredka.

In order to consider the parables of Jesus Christ with empathy, keep in mind the fullness of Jesus' humanity and ability to tell stories with a sense of humor, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington said in a July 16 homily.

Retired Auxiliary Bishop John R. Manz of Chicago died unexpectedly July 15. No cause of death was released. He was 77.

Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Cardinal Louis Sako has left his patriarchal residence in the capital, Baghdad, relocating to a monastery in the northern Kurdistan region after the president of Iraq recently revoked a decree that formally recognized him as Chaldean patriarch in the country.

A bill to ban the use of capital punishment by the federal government was reintroduced in Congress, where it faces steep odds for passage.

In an interview days after his appointment as one of 21 new cardinals of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican's ambassador to the U.S., said Pope Francis "is really filled with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council." Said Pierre: "He wants to help the church with the reception of the council, which is very important."

The Food and Drug Administration announced July 13 it had approved the sale of a birth control pill without a prescription for the first time in the United States, a move that will increase the availability of oral contraception and impact ongoing debates about abortion policy.

Cardinal-designate Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, expressed the need to respect and protect the life and dignity of Palestinians during a July 10 visit to Jenin, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the city July 5.

A 22-year-old Washington man has been arrested for the July 5 shooting and killing on the campus of The Catholic University of America of a Kentucky man visiting the nation's capital.

As flood waters rose throughout Vermont during the July 10 torrential rains, at least one Catholic parish opened its facilities for people who needed a place to wait out the flooding and make post-flood plans.