OSV News

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said wartime restrictions have forced the cancellation or postponement of key Holy Week observances, urging the faithful to remain united in prayer despite the inability to gather for traditional celebrations.

Chairmen of several U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committees wrote in a letter to key House lawmakers that they support a bill that would establish an effort to investigate and document the histories and practices of Indian boarding schools, and their long-term effects on Native American peoples.

The bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S. have issued "a cry for peace and justice," as they are "anguished" by atrocities and suffering in the nations where their respective communities originated.

Catholic dioceses and organizations are canceling events and rethinking initiatives honoring the late civil rights icon César Chávez, following newly reported allegations the activist — who publicly drew on his Catholic faith in his work — sexually abused several women and girls.

Pope Leo XIV declared Fr. Edward Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, venerable on March 23, recognizing his heroic virtue and moving him one step closer to sainthood.

As the U.S. and Israel-Iran war enters its fourth week, and amid a deep humanitarian crisis throughout the region, Pope Leo XIV appealed during his Sunday Angelus prayer March 22: "Persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and paths of peace may finally open up, based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person."

It seems that there has been a "renewed search for God in a world where many people are longing for hope, love and peace," said Denise Contino, director of the diocese's Department of Catechesis.

Israeli authorities closed Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher as part of wider closures for security concerns, beginning Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States launched attacks against Iran.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended the role of religion in public life during comments March 19 at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said the use of God's name to justify war is a grave sin, stressing that God is present with those who suffer and die in conflict, not with those who exploit religion for political ends.

Ordinations of priests and deacons have been halted in four Nicaraguan dioceses, aggravating a shortage of priests as the Sandinista regime continues its suffocation of the Catholic Church.

Addressing the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors March 16, Pope Leo XIV underlined the importance of preventing abuse in the Church, insisting that such responsibility must be concretely confronted and not delegated.

A Nebraska bishop is calling for prayer as that state battles what are believed to be the worst wildfires in its recorded history, which have killed at least one person.

A tragic incident involving the rescue of an altar boy occurred March 13 during a Lenten retreat in the coastal town of General Villamil Playas, in Ecuador's Guayas province.

In a constantly connected, on-the-go world, the new president of Jesuit-run Regis University in Denver is seeking to foster deeper connection and community — both on campus and throughout the city.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced late March 16 that it will hear oral arguments in April on whether the Trump administration can end a program temporarily shielding eligible Haitians living in the U.S. from deportation.

As the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown, advocates from across the nation gathered in Arizona to discuss pastoral strategies for understanding and applying Church teaching to mass deportations.

As retaliatory strikes from Iran, as well as from Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, continued, people in the Holy Land — especially Christians — face a dire present and an uncertain future.

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, called for an end to mass deportation and redoubled efforts to show solidarity with those affected by that policy in a new pastoral message released March 15.

The University of Notre Dame is awarding the prestigious Laetare medal, an honor reserved exclusively for American Catholics, to Timothy Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics.