OSV Newscast

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

Stories in this episode:

• The Department of Homeland Security announced a policy change easing visa delays for foreign-born religious workers, a move welcomed by Catholic leaders while they continue to urge Congress to pass permanent protections.
• The Trump administration quietly released previously frozen Title X family planning funds to Planned Parenthood, prompting the ACLU to drop its lawsuit even as the administration continues to defend a separate effort to block abortion providers from federal funding.
• A Minneapolis Catholic school community gathered for FletcherFest to honor the life of 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, remembering his joy and hope after he was killed during an all-school Mass shooting.
• Vatican officials highlighted Christian unity as a divine mandate ahead of the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, echoing Pope Leo XIV’s call for communion rooted in shared gifts rather than domination.
• Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to dedicate daily time to prayer and listening to God, saying friendship with the Lord is essential before believers can authentically speak about faith to others.

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 13, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Stories in this episode:

• The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in cases challenging Idaho and West Virginia laws that require student athletes to compete on sports teams based on biological sex rather than gender identity.
• A U.S. bishop said that despite progress since the Dobbs decision, prayer and action remain essential to making abortion unthinkable as Catholics prepare for national pro-life observances.
• Cardinal Wilton Gregory said Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived Catholic social justice teaching in an extraordinary way, ahead of his preaching at the Diocese of Phoenix’s annual MLK Mass.
• A historic altar at Jerusalem’s Syriac Orthodox Monastery of St. Mark was unveiled after a major restoration, revealing sacred artwork unseen for nearly 350 years.
• Pope Leo XIV announced a Jubilee Year marking 800 years since the death of St. Francis of Assisi, including major events and the first public display of the saint’s body in Assisi.

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

Stories in this episode:

• President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet with Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Jan. 12, according to the White House schedule. 
• A formal inquiry of a 19th-century Belgian-American immigrant Adele Brice, who witnessed three apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has begun in the Green Bay Diocese.
• The city of Rochester, New York -- in research partnership with the Lab for Economic Opportunities, or LEO, at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana -- announced in December its year-long Guaranteed Basic Income program was a success. 
• Pope Leo XIV is voicing concern as deadly anti-government protests continue in Iran amid a sweeping internet blackout. 
• Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has asked Pope Leo XIV to help secure the release of political prisoners and support a transition to democracy in Venezuela. 

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

Stories in this episode:

• Pope Leo XIV used his New Year’s address to diplomats to strongly defend unborn life, marriage and family, while rejecting abortion, euthanasia and surrogacy in favor of policies that protect human dignity.
• Catholic and interfaith leaders in Minneapolis warned that increased immigration enforcement has left immigrant communities fearful after a woman was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent.
• The Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a motion seeking dismissal of multiple abuse-related claims in a lawsuit, arguing Missouri law bars liability for nonperpetrators.
• Catholic leaders marked Epiphany at the site of Jesus’ baptism in Jordan, inviting pilgrims worldwide while expressing hope for peace in the region and signs of renewal in Gaza.
• Pope Leo XIV confirmed plans to visit Spain this summer, signaling hope for the Church in a country that has not hosted a papal visit in 14 years.

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

Stories in this episode:

• The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will travel the East Coast from St. Augustine, Florida, to Portland, Maine, ending in Philadelphia, organizers announced.
• Archbishop Bernard Hebda is continuing his call for prayers after police said a woman was pronounced dead following a shooting involving a federal agent in Minneapolis.
• The Thomas More Society announced it would pursue a rehearing of its case against California's laws that allow public schools to conceal how a student expresses their gender identity at school from their parents. 
• Victims of clergy sexual abuse in Spain are expressing cautious optimism after a landmark agreement between the Catholic Church and the Spanish government aimed at providing reparations.
• After an intense day of roundtable discussions, the "low-batteried" but "very pleased" cardinals wrapped the first historic extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV.

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Gina Christian catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 7, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Stories in this episode:

• After President Donald Trump told House Republicans to be "flexible" on the Hyde Amendment in negotiations on health care subsidies, a key national pro-life group pushed back.
  
  
• The Trump administration's stated plans to acquire Greenland -- either through purchase from Denmark or by military means -- are being met with concern, sometimes fear and "a quiet strength" by residents, the island's only Catholic parish priest told OSV News.
  
  
•  Cardinals from around the world are gathering at the Vatican Jan. 7-8 for an extraordinary consistory called by Pope Leo XIV.
  
  
• The teachings of the Second Vatican Council are still "the guiding star" the Catholic Church is meant to follow, Pope Leo XIV said. 
  
  
• Russell Shaw, a veteran journalist who led communications for the U.S. bishops and Knights of Columbus and authored numerous articles and books, has died.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Jan. 6, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Thanks for listening! Let us know what you think. God bless!

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

Stories in this episode:

• Pope Leo XIV voiced deep concern after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a nighttime military operation Jan. 3. 
•  Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans has issued a formal apology to abuse survivors in that archdiocese, following last month's court approval of a $230 million-dollar settlement in the five-year-long bankruptcy case.
• Well before he was a University of Maryland transfer who used his final year of college football eligibility to become a major success story as a running back at Indiana University, Roman Hemby said he owed much credit to John Carroll School in Bel Air for instilling vital Catholic values that guide him today.  
• The Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles have expressed deep gratitude following the safe return of all children and staff abducted from St. Mary's School in Papiri, Nigeria.
• An estimated 33 million visitors and pilgrims came to the Vatican to celebrate the Jubilee Year, exceeding early forecasts, officials said at a news conference at the Vatican.

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

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Peter Jesserer Smith, national news editor of OSV News, catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com. 

Stories in this episode:

• Puerto Rico Catholic governor signs historic personhood law for the unborn
• India: Christmas celebrations disturbed or canceled over Hindu nationalist violence
• Vatican agency says 17 churchworkers murdered in 2025
• Czech archdiocese welcomes pioneering ‘3D church’
• Wisconsin man’s Catholic faith revived after finding bishop’s crosier in scrapyard