OSV Newscast

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Feb. 11, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Carrie Prejean Boller has been removed from the Religious Liberty Commission after a commission hearing on antisemitism at which the Catholic conservative commentator. initiated some tense exchanges with Jewish American witnesses.
• Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, is urging the University of Notre Dame to halt the appointment of faculty member Susan Ostermann, who advocates openly for abortion, as head of one of the school's research centers. 
• A stone from the Porziuncola -- the tiny chapel where St. Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan order and later died -- has arrived in the Arabian Peninsula, marking a major spiritual moment for Catholics in the Gulf.
• Pope Leo XIV marked the World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11 by praying at the Lourdes grotto in the Vatican Gardens, asking Our Lady of Lourdes to accompany all who suffer around the world. 
• Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, retired archbishop of New York, is the new co-chief chaplain of the New York Police Department, sharing the role with the Rev. A.R. Bernard of Brooklyn's Christian Cultural Center, a nondenominational megachurch.

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Feb. 10, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit Australia in 2028 to preside over the International Eucharistic Congress, marking 100 years since the country first hosted the global Catholic gathering.
• Jimmy Lai’s daughter says faith is sustaining their family after the imprisoned Catholic media tycoon was sentenced to 20 years under Hong Kong’s national security law, while calling for a political solution rather than an appeal.
• Senior Catholic bishops are demanding President Donald Trump issue an unequivocal apology after a racist video targeting the Obamas appeared on his social media account and sparked widespread outrage.
• The Vatican has sent generators, food, and medicine to Ukraine to help civilians facing freezing temperatures and power outages as Pope Leo XIV continues efforts to support those suffering in the war.
• Church leaders say Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s newly approved beatification highlights a legacy rooted in a deep personal relationship with Christ that fueled his influential ministry and evangelization.

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

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• The Vatican has approved the long-delayed beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, clearing the way for the beloved Catholic broadcaster and evangelist to move closer to sainthood after a six-year pause.
• Hong Kong democracy advocate and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison under China’s national security law, intensifying global concerns about human rights and press freedom.
• Washington, D.C., health officials reported confirmed measles exposure sites tied to the March for Life, the National Shrine, and Catholic University, urging vaccination and medical follow-up for those at risk.
• The Vatican confirmed Pope Leo XIV has no plans to visit the United States in 2026, amid ongoing tensions over immigration policy and the pope’s focus on other international travel.
• Church leaders in Assisi are anticipating a possible papal visit during the Jubilee Year of St. Francis as thousands of pilgrims gather to venerate the saint’s relics and mark major anniversaries.

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Peter Jesserer Smith of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Feb. 6, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• The world "always has and always will need a missionary Church," said Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks in his first public homily as the new shepherd of the Archdiocese of New York.
•  A video posted on President Donald Trump's Truth Social account that depicted former first couple President Barack and Michelle Obama as apes was deleted after widespread outrage denounced the content as racist. 
•  Two major medical groups backed limitations on certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender. 
• Peruvians reacted with a mix of joy and anticipation after Church leaders said there is an "80% chance" Pope Leo XIV will visit Peru later this year, likely between November and early December. 
• Just as the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina were about to begin, Pope Leo XIV called on the Catholic Church to recognize sport as an opportunity to offer much-needed human and spiritual guidance. 

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Feb. 5, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• The world continues to fall short of protecting and caring for its children, leaving them with few opportunities to succeed and at greater risk of suffering abuse, Pope Leo XIV said in a speech Feb. 5. 
• As Ukraine approaches four years since Russia's full-scale invasion, intensified attacks on civilian infrastructure are deepening a humanitarian crisis, while faith has become a pillar of national resilience, said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.
• Catholic leaders, including an official from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' migration office, reiterated a pastoral approach to the issue of child detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• Pope Leo XIV is urging Catholics worldwide to pray for children living with incurable diseases, highlighting his prayer intention for the month of February in a new Vatican video released Feb. 5. 
• A Catholic church in Rome briefly became a viral sensation after an angel's face appeared to resemble Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, then just as quickly lost its star attraction after church and government officials asked for a do-over.

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Feb. 4, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Pope Leo XIV added the feast of St. John Henry Newman to the Church’s universal calendar, inviting Catholics worldwide to celebrate his witness to faith and truth each October 9.
• Catholic high school students in Draper, Utah, walked out of class to protest ICE actions and publicly support immigrants in a peaceful downtown demonstration.
• Haitian Catholic communities in the U.S. expressed relief but ongoing concern after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending protected status for Haitian immigrants.
• U.S. bishops marked Black History Month by urging Catholics to honor historical memory, confront racism, and become courageous witnesses to human dignity.
• Several Team USA Winter Olympic athletes shared how Christian and Catholic faith are sustaining them as they prepare for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Feb. 3, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Archbishop Paul S. Coakley warned that allowing the New START nuclear arms treaty between the United States and Russia to expire is “simply unacceptable,” urging renewed diplomacy and prayer for lasting peace amid rising global tensions.
• Illinois Catholic and pro-life leaders criticized Gov. JB Pritzker’s launch of a $5 million fund to support abortion services for out-of-state patients, calling the expansion of abortion tourism “macabre.”
• Pope Leo XIV praised consecrated men and women for their courageous witness among the poor and vulnerable, calling them living signs of the sacredness of life during his homily for World Day for Consecrated Life.
• Cardinal Robert W. McElroy urged Catholic colleges and universities to place the “order of grace” at the heart of campus life, saying they have a critical role in renewing society through Catholic social teaching and dialogue.
• Catholics in Wisconsin are remembering retired Bishop Robert J. Banks of Green Bay for his decades of dedicated and pastoral leadership following his death at age 97.

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Feb. 2, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• A federal judge ordered the release of a five-year-old asylum seeker and his father, citing Gospel verses while sharply criticizing immigration detention practices that traumatize children.
• Pope Leo XIV urged sincere dialogue between the United States and Cuba as rising tensions threaten to deepen suffering on the island amid an ongoing socio-economic crisis.
• Pope Leo prayed for victims of catastrophic flooding in southern Africa, as Church leaders and the U.N. appealed for urgent international aid to help hundreds of thousands affected by extreme weather.
• A Pew Research Center analysis found no reliable evidence of a Christian revival among young adults in the United Kingdom, warning that opt-in surveys can produce misleading results.
• Pope Leo formally recognized Guatemalan Franciscan Father Augusto Ramírez Monasterio as a martyr for refusing to break the seal of confession during the country’s civil war.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 30, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

• Catholic leaders in Spain are welcoming a new government plan to regularize the legal status of around 500,000 migrants in the country without authorization, calling it a long-overdue act of social justice.
• Amid recent deadly immigration enforcement operations, Catholics in Minneapolis are wrestling with sorrow, anger, fear and faith as they navigate tensions between federal and local authorities, while continuing to serve their communities. 
• The Chesterton Schools Network, a growing consortium of classical Catholic high schools, continues to expand in the U.S. and abroad, tapping what leaders describe as rising parental demand for faithful, rigorous and affordable education.
• During their routine "ad limina apostolorum" -- Latin for "to the threshold of the apostles" -- visit to Rome, Peru's bishops made headlines for an unexpected and personal moment: a surprise lunch visit from Pope Leo XIV, a longtime member of the Peruvian bishops' conference and former bishop of Chiclayo.
• Pope Leo XIV is encouraging the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to become a sign of unity, solidarity, and peace among peoples and cultures. 

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 29, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

• A key national pro-life group has accused the Department of Justice of undermining Louisiana's efforts to roll back the Biden administration's eased restrictions on mifepristone when it asked a court Jan. 27 to pause the Pelican State's challenge to that policy. 
• Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne said he is finished with the German Synodal Way and will not attend its sixth assembly, opening Jan. 29. 
• Catholic bishops in South Sudan are warning that the country is edging back toward full-scale war, as fighting intensifies and political tensions rise.
• Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, opened the dicastery's Jan. 27–29 plenary with a strong call for humility in thought, theology and online discourse. 
• A Houston-area Catholic school science teacher said the Challenger disaster remains one of the most defining moments of her early understanding of science and human exploration, shaping both her worldview and her vocation as an educator.