OSV News

Catholic Relief Services is welcoming federal support that will help "significantly expand" humanitarian aid to Cuba, as the Caribbean nation battles multiple crises.

Weeks after the release of a synod study group report on controversial pastoral issues, experts have continued to express mixed opinions about the document's treatment of same-sex attraction.

Lebanon's Cardinal Bechara Rai, the patriarch of the country's Maronite Catholic Church, has urged for prayer and guidance as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun makes a critical visit to the White House July 21 to present President Donald Trump with a plan on how to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group and secure Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon.

In Hudson, on the wide, sweeping plains of Eastern Colorado, an intimate group of Catholics, faith leaders and human rights representatives gathered to pray the rosary July 10.

The joint pastoral reflection follows three separate deaths recorded days apart in July amid operations by ICE as they implement the Trump administration's hardline crackdown on immigration.

France's bishops are strongly criticizing a "radical choice" made by French lawmakers to legalize "assisted dying." A watershed vote by the National Assembly July 15 legalized assisted dying, including euthanasia and assisted suicide in certain cases.

Twin earthquakes in Venezuela have left nearly 5,000 people dead, according to government officials, triggering a massive mobilization of humanitarian aid organizations.

Catholics and immigrant advocacy groups have expressed solidarity and offered prayers in the aftermath of two fatal shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers within less than a week.

The Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, is demanding a jury trial as it fends off the Trump administration's move to seize a long-revered pilgrimage site for a border wall as part of Trump's hardline crackdown on immigration.

A Chicago priest known for his longtime social justice ministry has been placed on leave, following an abuse allegation for an incident said to have taken place some three decades ago.

Damage from two back-to-back earthquakes that struck Venezuela June 24 is "a lot worse than expected," said a Catholic Relief Services disaster response worker, who asked people to "keep Venezuelans in their hearts."

As African bishops continue to back Pope Leo XIV over the excommunication of the Society of St. Pius X, known as SSPX, the traditionalist group in Kenya rejected the schismatic tag as it moved to assure followers of its Roman Catholic identity.

Much has been done to mitigate rates of HIV and AIDS, but more work remains as children are still vulnerable to the virus and the disease it causes, said the Holy See's diplomatic representative to the United Nations in a July 10 address.

When the 8:21 a.m. train left Rome's Termini Station to Castel Gandolfo July 12, people were packed in like sardines, off to see Pope Leo XIV's Sunday Angelus prayer — the first this summer at his residence there.

About 200 people from the Diocese of Rome participated in "Lunch with the Pope" July 11, "a day of welcome and fraternity" within the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo.

The University of Notre Dame is investigating anonymous allegations of abuse posted online regarding a campus rector of a women's residence hall.

Andy Burnham may become the first U.K. prime minister to identify publicly as Catholic. While some church members hope this "bears some fruit," others fear he may be pressured to disregard his Catholic background.

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said his decision to remove a high-profile priest as an archdiocesan exorcist was driven by the public way he exercised his ministry, not by his specific beliefs about UFOs.

Catholic leaders and organizations in the U.S. continue to aid Venezuela as that nation recovers from two deadly earthquakes that struck seconds apart June 24.