OSV Newscast

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 21, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

In this episode:

• A Nigerian priest kidnapped by Boko Haram in June has been released, OSV News has learned.
  
  
• Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami and some 25 Knights of Columbus saddled up their motorcycles to pray a rosary at the entrance of Alligator Alcatraz.
  
  
•  Newly installed Bishop Mark A. Eckman of Pittsburgh has expressed his "great sorrow" over "hateful vandalism" at one of his parish churches, which federal authorities are now investigating.
  
  
• Parishioners at Gaza's Holy Family Parish are in shock and despair after an Israeli tank shell struck their compound July 17, killing three elderly sheltering there and wounding 10.
  
  
• The humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and the need for urgent assistance were part of discussions between Pope Leo XVI and Mahmoud Abbas, president of Palestine and the Palestinian National Authority. 

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 18, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

• World and church leaders are condemning a deadly July 17 Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip's Holy Family Parish.
  
  
•  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Pope Leo XIV, who urged Israel's leader to revive negotiations and enact a ceasefire. 
  
  
• As alarming sectarian violence swept through Syria in the third week of July, Christian communities in the region experienced a new wave of persecution. 
  
  
• A federal court on July 18 temporarily blocked a new law in Washington state requiring clergy to report child abuse or neglect without exceptions for the confessional.
  
  
• At Purpose Fest 2025 in Sydney, hundreds of young Catholics lined up to experience the world premiere of the Carlo Acutis virtual reality experience.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 17, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

In this episode:

• Israeli tank fire struck the Holy Family Parish, Gaza Strip's only Catholic parish, killing three and injuring nine, including the parish's pastor.
  
  
• A former Vatican diplomat convicted of child pornography offenses in 2018 remains employed in the Vatican, leading to questions about his continued presence in the Curia.
  
  
• Two Catholic service organizations have joined forces to back three new pieces of legislation designed to both help victims of human trafficking and enhance safety for children online.
  
  
• A kidnapped Nigerian priest, who previously served in Alaska, has managed to contact his home diocese, but remains in captivity.
  
  
• The cry of innocent victims and mothers mourning their children will not go unheard, Pope Leo XIV told a group of Orthodox and Catholic pilgrims from the U.S.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 16, 2025. 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 July 15, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

In this episode:

• From Boston to Baton Rouge, faithful across the nation are reaching out to bring material and spiritual aid to those impacted by the devastating July 4 flash floods in the Texas Hill Country. 
  
  
• As the Trump administration implements its hardline immigration policies, a record-high share of U.S. adults said immigration generally benefits the country, a new Gallup Poll found. 
  
  
• In Nigeria's Edo state, gunmen stormed Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in the Diocese of Auchi the night of July 10, killing a security officer and abducting three seminarians.
  
  
• Catholic scouts have several new honors to aim for, including a Pope Leo XIV patch. 
  
  
• As part of his summer break, Pope Leo visited members of the Italian Carabinieri in Castel Gandolfo and the Poor Clares in nearby Albano Laziale.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 14, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

• Representatives of various groups, including one that earned a Nobel Peace Prize, gathered at an interfaith event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to call for nuclear disarmament worldwide. 
  
  
• Nearly one in three pregnancies in England and Wales ends in abortion, according to new government figures.
  
  
• Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, France -- widely respected for his rigorous approach to clergy abuse cases -- has been named president of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
  
  
• To believe in and follow a loving and compassionate Christ is to allow him to enter one's heart and take on his same feelings, Pope Leo XIV said.
  
  
• Benedictine Brother Paul-Vincent Niebauer is passionate about theater and giving the opportunity to perform "to as many students as possible" -- a Minnesota high school has established an endowed chair in his honor.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 11, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Here are the stories in today's OSV Newscast:

• The Village of Dolton, Illinois, has bought Pope Leo XIV's former childhood home to make it a historical site.
  
  
• Chicago White Sox left fielder Will Robertson talks Catholic faith and family life in Major League Baseball. 
  
  
• The U.S. Supreme Court concluded its 2024-2025 term that included cases on topics such as the scope of authority of federal judges, and religious liberty. When the court begins its 2025-2026 term, it will again hear cases concerning religious liberty.
  
  
• July 11 marks 30 years since the Srebrenica massacre, the deadliest atrocity in Europe since World War II -- and survivors of the genocide say the wounds remain raw. 
  
  
• Pope Leo XIV urged global leaders and experts to establish a network for the governance of AI and to seek ethical clarity regarding its use. 

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 10, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

• A federal judge on July 10 placed a new, temporary nationwide block on President Donald Trump's executive order to to end the practice of birthright citizenship as part of a class action lawsuit.
  
  
• Days after July 4 flash floods ravaged the state of Texas' Hill Country -- killing at least 121, with more than 170 people still missing as of July 10 -- OSV News spoke with Father Joshua Whitfield, whose community suffered the loss of two Catholic girls found with their hands clasped together.
  
  
• In the West Bank, Christian leaders in Taybeh -- the region’s only entirely Christian Palestinian village — are sounding the alarm over escalating settler violence. 
  
  
• As he steps down after nine years as custos of the Holy Land, Franciscan Father Francesco Patton says his time shepherding the friars and guarding Christianity’s holiest sites has been the most "formative' experience of his life.
  
  
• Pope Leo XIV called on every parish and church group or association to become part of a "revolution" of care and gratitude by regularly visiting older people. 

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 9, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

Vatican still ready to host peace talks between Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine religious leaders issue ‘desperate cry’ to world to end Russia’s war

San Bernardino Diocese suspends Mass obligation for those with ‘genuine fear’ of ICE raids

Catholic Church holds firm on not taking stand on political candidates, despite possible IRS shift

Pope Leo wears Chicago-made vestments to July 9 ‘care of creation’ Mass

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 8, 2025. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

Read the stories in this episode:

Walking, suffering with Texas flood victims crucial, says San Antonio archbishop

Synod office provides guidelines to help local churches, bishops implement synodality

Dalai Lama, iconic spiritual leader who has met popes and befriended presidents, turns 90

Notre Dame prepares to reopen towers’ tour with return of famed statues of saints to rooftop

Pope’s prayer intention for July: That the faithful might again learn how to discern