OSV News

A Catholic response to those experiencing gender dysphoria "must both affirm God-given sex and recognize the struggle of the person in front of us," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said in a new pastoral letter.

Russia's seizure of Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine has undermined global nuclear security, while serving as a "wake-up call" to ending energy dependence on Russia, said experts at a recent panel discussion hosted by Manor College in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, a Catholic college.

Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington made a special homecoming to Illinois April 29, where the Chicago native was among six 2023 recipients of the Order of Lincoln, the state's highest honor for professional achievement and public service.

A federal judge has recused himself from an archdiocesan bankruptcy case, following an Associated Press report on his affiliations with and donations to the Catholic Church, and despite a vote of confidence from a federal judicial conference committee.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, and Coadjutor Bishop Richard G. Henning of Providence immediately succeeds him.

The Biden administration announced April 27 new steps it would take in an effort to reduce migrant arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border when Title 42 expires in May.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, said he is "convinced that the church today is in need of an eye-opening experience," similar to the experience of the two disciples who encountered Jesus along the road to Emmaus following the Resurrection, but who did not recognize him until they shared a meal.

Spain's Catholic bishops have adopted guidelines for tackling sexual abuse by clergy, while also urging the prohibition of surrogacy and restating the church's political independence in key upcoming elections.

President Joe Biden announced April 25 that he will seek a second term in the White House. Biden, a Democrat, is the nation's second Catholic president, but his reelection would make him the first Catholic to serve twice in the Oval Office.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill April 20 that will eliminate the state's requirement that juries in capital punishment cases agree unanimously to recommend death sentences, lowering the number of jurors needed to hand down a death sentence to the lowest threshold of any U.S. state.

Gusts of wind flapped the altar cloth and rippled the clergy's vestments during Mass on the farm and the blessing of the seeds in the Pieper family's cavernous hoop barn April 15.

On the very day Elon Musk launched SpaceX rocket Starship on its ill-fated maiden voyage toward space, that final frontier, Musk's company Twitter did boldly go purging blue verification check marks from users who had not signed up for its paid Twitter Blue service on April 20, including Pope Francis' Twitter accounts.

Many people in Central American countries are engaged in growing staple grains in an area vulnerable to extreme weather events. Twelve years ago, Catholic Relief Services began helping Central American farmers prepare for the toll climate has in their production cycles, working side by side with farmers to apply better and more efficient cultivation methods, soil management, and water resources.

Perhaps the strongest message to emerge from Villanova University's April 18 Second Annual Anti-Poverty Symposium — "Unitas in Action: Fighting Poverty and Living Sustainably" — is that the intersection between poverty and environmental destruction is no coincidence. In the global chain of pollution and profit, poor communities are almost always adversely and disproportionately impacted.

The three Catholic bishops of Tennessee and the Tennessee Catholic Conference have included their names on a letter to Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly urging passage of gun safety measures.

An Oregon parish music minister has been arrested as part of an undercover child predator sting, according to the Washington County Sheriff's office.

The U.S. Supreme Court said April 14 it would temporarily keep in place federal regulations regarding the use of an abortion drug, giving the court additional time to consider a lower court's ruling to stay the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug.

President Joe Biden said "the enemies of peace will not prevail" in Northern Ireland as he pledged the United States would continue to partner and support the region in building stability and future prosperity for its young people.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-La., called for an end to the death penalty in Louisiana during his final State of the State address, April 10, in an impassioned call for lawmakers to adopt legislative proposals reflecting its identity as a "pro-life state."

Catholics advocates and agencies in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Flint, Michigan are responding to water pollution in their communities. All three cities have had or continue to experience clean water issues due to things like chemical and radiation contamination and aging infrastructure across the country.