OSV Newscast

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 21, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Pope Leo XIV needs "no further treatment" following his Oct. 13 surgery for lung cancer, his doctors have confirmed. 
• The 11th National Eucharistic Congress will be held in Indianapolis in 2029, organizers have announced.
• The Trump administration on Oct. 18 extended protections from deportation to people from Ukraine and Sudan, allowing them to continue living legally in the U.S. for now. 
• Reservations about the expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAiD, expressed by former Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard are drawing international attention. 
• Ireland's national synodal assembly has signaled a strong push toward evangelization and faith formation, as delegates voted on 35 proposals shaped by the country's five-year synodal process. 

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 20, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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1. Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, urging Ukraine and Russia to cooperate on humanitarian aid and civilian evacuation from the occupied city of Oleshky.
2. Holy Land Church leaders condemned an October 17th settler attack near the Christian village of Taybeh that targeted Palestinian civilians and European diplomats during the olive harvest.
3. Mexico’s bishops presented Pope Leo XIV with a 200-page book documenting the lives of more than 1,100 of the country’s 132,000 missing persons.
4. Archbishop James Golka of Denver asked exorcist Father Chad Ripperger to take a one-year break from public speaking and interviews, while confirming he remains a priest in good standing.
5. Ahead of the Oct. 31 beatification of the Georgia Martyrs in Savannah, Cardinal Frank Leo said the five Franciscan missionaries remind Catholics of the universal call to make disciples.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 19, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• French Church leaders have strongly condemned a wave of violence that swept across France over the Oct. 17-18 weekend during demonstrations that began as protests against the rising cost of living. 
• A Redemptorist priest in Ecuador was killed after a large crucifix fell and struck him during Mass, in a tragedy that was captured on a livestream Oct. 17. 
• One week after announcing he would undergo lung surgery, Pope Leo XIV returned to the window of the Apostolic Palace Oct. 18, just five days after surgery for lung cancer and less than 24 hours after leaving Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
• Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, papal nuncio to the United States, was among the many faith leaders, scholars and policymakers who gathered in Salt Lake City Oct. 15-17 for the G20 Interfaith Forum, the largest faith gathering ever held in Utah.
• The canonization cause of Irish Jesuit war chaplain Father Willie Doyle is taking a major step forward, with the diocesan phase formally concluding Oct. 18 before being sent to Rome. 

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 16, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

• The Vatican released the first photos of Pope Leo XIV since his Oct. 13 lung surgery and cancer diagnosis, showing him celebrating Mass at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital as doctors reported continued improvement. 
• An elementary school shooting in Bend, Oregon, left five people dead and two wounded Oct. 15, prompting the state's Catholic bishops to offer prayers and support to grieving families. 
• Elizabeth Greenop, a former residence rector at the University of Notre Dame, won an Oct. 9 court order to subpoena social media giant Meta to identify those behind anonymous Instagram posts accusing her of sexual assault.
• Bishop Oscar A. Solis of Salt Lake City has commissioned 31 laypeople as "Worthy and Suitable Catechists" to impart some of the minor rites of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, also known as OCIA. 
• Catholic bishops across Latin America are rallying prayers for Pope Leo XIV as uncertainty grows over his planned November trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru following surgery for lung cancer. 

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 15, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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1. President Trump called off Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the December firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan after condemnation from Catholic bishops, who called the plan “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.”
2. Doctors at Gemelli Hospital reported “good recovery of the operated lung” two days after Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery for lung cancer, with all papal audiences canceled through October 20th.
3. Students at a Chicago Catholic school named a group “Team 14” in the pope’s honor are sending Pope Leo a White Sox blanket and get-well cards as he recovers from lung cancer surgery.
4. Archbishop Paul Coakley urged Catholics to vote in the November midterms and “put their faith before politics,” warning that a well-formed conscience does not treat criticism of one’s own party as a threat.
5. A weeklong Vatican summit marking the 10th anniversary of “Amoris Laetitia” concluded with prayers for the recovering Pope Leo XIV, with accompaniment of families emerging as its central theme.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 14, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

• Pope Leo XIV underwent more medical exams and started respiratory physical therapy on Oct. 14, the day after the lung cancer surgery that removed the lower lobe of the pope's right lung.
• Catholic voters have soured on President Donald Trump since he returned to the White House last year, a new Pew Research Center survey found.
• Catholic and evangelical leaders issued an ecumenical statement Oct. 13 as part of a joint effort to call for compassionate immigration reform.
• Catholic leaders across the nation are continuing to express their shock and concern over the Trump administration's plans to livestream the military execution of former Army psychiatrist and convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan.
• Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the newly elected dean of the College of Cardinals, presided over the closing Mass Oct. 14 for the Vatican’s meeting on marriage and family, delivering a homily Pope Leo XIV had prepared before undergoing surgery for newly diagnosed lung cancer.

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Gina Christian of OSV News speaks with Dr. Nirmal Veeramachaneni, professor of cardiothoracic surgery at St. Louis University School of Medicine and medical director for lung cancer screening at SSM Health, about Pope Leo XIV's lung cancer diagnosis, disclosed following the pope's Oct. 13 surgery at Rome's Gemelli Hospital. While Dr. Veeramachaneni is not part of the pope's care team, he offered valuable insight into what the procedure likely entailed, and what the next steps in Pope Leo's care may be. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 12, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

• Pope Leo XIV announced Oct. 11 that he will undergo surgery in the coming days after doctors discovered a lung nodule during a medical checkup. 
• Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Oct. 13 before undergoing lung surgery, prompting the cancellation of several public events and meetings over the coming week.
• Political and religious leaders worldwide offered prayers and support for Pope Leo XIV after he announced Oct. 11 that he will undergo surgery to remove a small, localized lung nodule detected by doctors.
• Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services issued a strong and lengthy statement Oct. 12 against the planned livestreamed execution by firing squad of Ford Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, calling it a "public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries."
• Sister Mary Teresa Barron, an Irish missionary nun, said her appointment to lead the Pontifical Mission Societies and serve as adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization reflects the Church's emphasis on lived missionary experience.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 9, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

• After Pentagon officials said they planned to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad in December, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops denounced the plan as "barbaric." 
• The Food and Drug Administration's safety review of mifepristone is expected to stretch into next year, according to an Oct. 7 court filing, prompting disappointment from pro-life groups. 
• Catholics now have official dates for the next International Eucharistic Congress, with Eucharist28 set for Sydney Sept. 24-Oct. 1, 2028. 
• As Cornell University grapples with a high-profile sexual assault case, Catholic leaders on campus said they are responding with "prayer, pastoral care, and renewed commitment to the formation of Catholic students," along with an 11-page pastoral letter to guide the faithful on campus. 
• The Vatican announced Oct. 9 that Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been elected dean of the College of Cardinals following the retirement of 92-year-old Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. 

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 8, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

1. Pope Leo XIV will close the 2026 interreligious peace meeting in Assisi on October 27th, 40 years after John Paul II's landmark gathering, joining Patriarch Bartholomew for a prayer service under the theme "Disarmed and Disarming Peace."
2. Justice Samuel Alito told CBS he sees "a concerted effort to intimidate the court," defending its independence and reflecting on the Dobbs leak in rare interviews tied to the release of his first book.
3. An 87-year-old Madrid woman whose eviction became a symbol of Spain's housing crisis has died, after Pope Leo XIV had questioned a system that allows such an eviction.
4. The Archdiocese of Mombasa held a memorial Mass for 17 parishioners killed in a road accident while traveling to Kenya's National Prayer Day at the Subukia Marian Shrine.
5. The Pontifical Swiss Guard announced a 2027 commemorative year marking the 500th anniversary of the Sack of Rome, when 147 guards died defending Pope Clement VII.