OSV Newscast

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 28, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Amid rising violence and polarization, USCCB President Archbishop Paul Coakley called Catholics nationwide to pray a Holy Hour for peace, urging renewed faith, love, and respect for human dignity in response to recent immigration-related deaths.
• Olympic-bound hockey player Britta Curl-Salemme says her lifelong Catholic faith and commitment to attending Mass have helped ground her as she prepares to compete with the U.S. women’s team in Milan.
• Pope Leo XIV marked Holocaust Remembrance Day by renewing a global appeal to end antisemitism, prejudice, and persecution, urging nations to remain vigilant against genocide and hatred.
• Mexico’s Catholic bishops called for unity, justice, and peace after a mass shooting at a soccer field in Guanajuato killed 11 people amid ongoing cartel-related violence.
• At OneLife LA, speakers and participants emphasized a broad pro-life vision rooted in compassion and human dignity, highlighting care for the vulnerable as central to Catholic witness.

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 27, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin called on people of faith to reject violence and urged Catholics to oppose congressional funding for immigration enforcement following a deadly protest-related shooting in Minneapolis.
• Pro-life leaders at the March for Life said the Trump administration has made progress but still must act on priorities such as protecting the Hyde Amendment and tightening regulations on mifepristone.
• Catholic education leaders said expanding school choice programs, scholarships and tax credits are helping more families afford Catholic schools despite rising tuition costs.
• Catholic scholars and bioethicists reaffirmed the Church’s long-standing opposition to IVF, emphasizing human dignity and ethical concerns surrounding artificial reproduction.
• Pope Leo XIV warned that moral relativism threatens lasting peace in Europe, urging societies to ground progress and security in shared truths rooted in human dignity.

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 26, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda led a Mass for peace in St. Paul following a fatal federal-agent shooting in Minneapolis, calling for prayer, unity and a conversion of hearts amid rising tension tied to immigration enforcement.
• Tens of thousands gathered in San Francisco for the 22nd annual Walk for Life West Coast, highlighting national pro-life solidarity and a powerful testimony from a mother whose child survived through abortion pill reversal.
• A Brazilian priest drew worldwide attention after interrupting Mass to comfort an elderly man grieving his grandson’s suicide, a moment many praised as a profound act of pastoral compassion.
• Ukrainian Catholic leaders warned that Russia’s winter missile attacks deliberately target civilians and energy infrastructure, aiming to freeze the population and deepen what church officials called crimes against humanity.
• A new English-language musical about St. Bernadette Soubirous will launch a U.S. tour in Chicago this February, bringing the Lourdes visionary’s story to American audiences through faith-based theater.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 23, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• While continuing to work to change laws to protect the unborn and support pregnant women in need, "we need to redouble our efforts to continue building, in the words of St. John Paul II, 'a culture of life and a civilization of love,'" Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, said Jan. 22 at the National Prayer Vigil for Life.
• Vice President JD Vance told participants in person at the 53rd annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 23 that President Donald Trump is their "ally" in the White House, amid concerns from some in the pro-life movement about remaining policy priorities just over a year into Trump's second term in the White House. 
• Although most Americans describe themselves as pro-choice, a majority also would support some legal limits on abortion, despite keeping the procedure largely available, according to a new Marist Poll sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. 
• As Milan prepares to host the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the Archdiocese of Milan is launching a faith-based initiative aimed at offering athletes and visitors space for prayer, reflection and community amid the intensity of the Games.
• The Archdiocese of Paris is launching a major churchwide council in response to a surge in adult and youth conversions across France.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 22, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Amid division and geopolitical turmoil, ecumenical experts are encouraging the faithful to remain steadfast as they observe the international Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Jan. 18-25.
  
  
• The Trump administration Jan. 22 announced a policy ending the use of fetal tissue from elective abortions in federally funded research.
  
  
• A group including Catholic organizations announced Jan. 21 a new partnership -- The Catholic Immigrant Prophetic Action Project -- that aims to assist the Catholic Church in the U.S. in organizing a robust response on behalf of migrants and refugees in the country, including those with legal status, who are affected by mass deportation efforts. 
  
  
• Leaders of the Churches of the Holy Land are warning that Christian Zionism is harming Christian unity and threatening the longstanding Christian presence in the region. 
  
  
• On the eve of the 2026 March for Life in Washington Jan. 23, Pope Leo XIV issued a message to participants, expressing his deep gratitude for their "eloquent public witness" and imparting his apostolic blessing.

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

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• President Donald Trump ruled out the use of force to acquire Greenland in a Jan. 21 speech to the World Economic Forum, but he said the U.S. would still seek ownership of the country.
• The Vatican is weighing whether Pope Leo XIV should accept an invitation from the U.S. President Donald Trump to join his newly announced "Board of Peace," a body meant to oversee governance and reconstruction in Gaza.
• Catholicism has waned in Latin America over the past decade, with more individuals foregoing religious affiliation -- although belief in God remains "high across the region," according to a new report from Pew Research Center.
• The models for six new contemporary stained-glass windows planned for Notre Dame Cathedral are now on public display in Paris following months of intense national debate. 
• Pope Leo XIV received two lambs Jan. 21 in the Vatican's Urban VIII Chapel, keeping alive an ancient tradition tied to the feast of St. Agnes of Rome. 

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

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• Franciscan University of Steubenville is mourning the apparent accidental deaths of two students found in a vehicle near a residence hall, as the campus community gathers in prayer and support for those grieving.
• New York state has dropped its decade-long effort to require religious organizations to include abortion coverage in employee health plans, ending a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court twice.
• Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin warned that a growing global “crisis of values” and weakening diplomacy risk pushing the world closer to wider international conflict.
• Addressing the United Nations, the Vatican’s top diplomat called for stronger prevention and accountability measures to confront the rising number of crimes against humanity worldwide.
• Minnesota Bishop Andrew Cozzens said healing from violence and fear can come through daily prayer, urging the faithful to bring their wounds to Christ and remain open to God’s grace.
• Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda is calling for comprehensive immigration reform, warning that years of inaction have turned a difficult policy debate into a divisive battleground with growing human costs on all sides.

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

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• Three U.S. cardinals issued a joint statement urging a “genuinely moral foreign policy,” drawing on Pope Leo XIV’s recent guidance as global conflicts raise new ethical questions for America’s role in the world.
• Archbishop Timothy Broglio said U.S. service members could act according to conscience and morally disobey orders related to a potential invasion of Greenland if those orders are ethically questionable.
• On January 19, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington released a pastoral letter addressing the nation’s growing mental health crisis, especially among young people, and pointing to healing and hope rooted in Christ and the life of the Church.
• France’s Catholic bishops reiterated their opposition to a proposed assisted dying law, arguing that true care at the end of life means expanding palliative care rather than legalizing death.
• At a Mass honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Cardinal Robert McElroy said the civil rights leader sparked a “revolution of conscience” that continues to challenge the nation to confront racism and injustice.
• Pope Leo XIV warned against chasing approval and public recognition, urging Christians to seek true fulfillment through prayer, simplicity and a deeper relationship with God.

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

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• Pope Leo XIV met with families of victims of the deadly Crans-Montana bar fire in the Apostolic Palace Jan. 15, offering consolation and hope after one of the worst tragedies in Swiss history. 
• Ukraine's Roman Catholic community has secured a major breakthrough in Kyiv, gaining the legal right to use the historic St. Nicholas Church for the next 50 years after decades of legal limbo.
• A congregation of Catholic women religious is lamenting the downfall of an acclaimed nursing home it once operated, after severe neglect and endangerment of residents by the current owners prompted Ohio state officials to intervene.
• Capuchin Franciscan Father John Aurilia -- the former assistant to St. Padre Pio whose final interview last October on the Wilmington's Diocese's Catholic Forum broke records as it was viewed nearly 300,000 times -- died Jan. 13 in Wilmington.
• Pope Leo XIV plays the daily online puzzle Wordle -- and his predecessor and namesake, Pope Leo XIII, was also passionate about wordplay, anonymously publishing riddles in Latin.

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

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• The National Eucharistic Revival -- a three-year initiative to renew belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, following a marked decline in belief among U.S. Catholics -- has rekindled both faith and outreach, although several challenges remain in extending those results to those not already in the pews.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Jan. 14 that the first in a series of direct humanitarian shipments to Cuba "in close partnership with the Catholic Church" would take place the same day and on Jan. 16, as the island recovers from Hurricane Melissa. 
• The Vatican’s top diplomat is renewing calls for a global ban on surrogacy, warning that the practice violates human dignity by turning children and women into commodities.
• Millions of Venezuelans took part in the annual Jan. 14 procession honoring the "Divina Pastora," or "Divine Shepherdess," in Barquisimeto, one of the country's largest and most beloved religious events -- which carried added weight, coming days after the reported U.S. capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
• The Augustinians, Pope Leo XIV's religious order, have elected Father Tom McCarthy as prior provincial for their Midwest province, a position the pope held from 1999-2001.