OSV News

Catholic Relief Services said May 21 that most of its projects under a federal international food aid program were terminated, leaving hundreds of thousands of children more vulnerable to hunger.

The Mexican bishops' conference has condemned a massacre of seven young people — including minors — at a parish festival, while urging action on the part of authorities amid rising violence and warning the population to avoid indifference in the face of recurring atrocities.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance met Louis and Deborah Prevost at the White House on May 20. Louis Prevost, the older brother of Pope Leo XIV, has described himself as a "MAGA type."

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer on May 20 signed House Bill 140, the physician-assisted suicide law that will allow Delaware adult residents who are deemed terminally ill to request and self-administer medication to end their lives.

Catholic immigration advocates said they were "disturbed" by a Supreme Court order allowing the Trump administration to end legal protections from deportation for about 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants. The Venezuelans, a typically Catholic population, were permitted to remain in the United States without risk of deportation due to dangerous conditions in their homeland.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, the Vatican secretary of state said Pope Leo XIV "has expressed his deep commitment to building bridges, underscoring the need to meet, dialogue and negotiate."

Catholic Relief Services, the official humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., hosted a May 17 national online meeting with some 375 participants to mobilize congressional lobbying against additional long-term cuts known as rescissions.

A move to hold talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Vatican appeared to gain momentum May 19, following a call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This is the full text in English of the homily given by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square during the Mass of Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry May 18, 2025. 

The hope that Pope Leo XIV has enkindled in Dolton is also enkindled for those who remember the shuttered church that formed him in his youth — not hope for a recreated past, but for new life in the future.

In the first week of Leo pontificate, the leading expert on the abuse crisis — as well as several survivors and victims of abuse — has come to the defense of the newly elected Roman pontiff after two organizations advocating for victims of abuse raised concerns regarding Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost's record on the matter not long after he was elected.

Amid an immigration enforcement operation in Nashville, Tennessee, that has emptied the pews at several Spanish-speaking parishes, the Diocese of Nashville is reminding faithful that they are not required to attend Sunday Mass if they fear for their well-being according to the church's own teaching and canon law.

The importance of continuity and diversity as well as the issues of war and peace were a main topic of conversation for the 133 cardinals as they gathered to vote in the conclave May 7-8, said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.

Peruvians have expressed pride and surprise in one of their own becoming pontiff. Augustinians in the country have expressed similar surprise — recalling Leo as an unassuming prelate, who prioritized the poor, sought unity in the Peruvian church and came to embrace the country.

As details of Pope Leo XIV's past life come to light, many are struck by his Chicago roots and his Chicago-ness.

Planned Parenthood's latest annual report shows an increase in abortions from the previous year's report, while also showing a $100 million increase in government funding amid an overall decrease in cancer screenings and prevention services.

In a statement provided to OSV News, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington said that it was "providing limited and temporary assistance to South Africans traveling through Dulles International Airport this week to final destinations elsewhere."

Thousands of Catholics packed the plaza outside the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Chiclayo in this northern Peruvian city to celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving for an adoptive son: Pope Leo XIV.

"Bishop Prevost was never the kind of bishop who gave orders from behind a desk," said Janinna Sesa Córdova, who led Caritas Chiclayo from 2014 to 2024. "He was the face of Christ, the one who went out into the mud to help his people."