OSV Newscast

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

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1. The Society of St. Pius X in Kenya is rejecting the Vatican's schism declaration, with Father Pierre Champroux insisting the group remains fully Catholic while Archbishop Philip Anyolo of Nairobi bars diocesan clergy from ministering alongside SSPX priests and urges the faithful to remain in full communion with Pope Leo XIV.
2. Catholic Relief Services worker Robyn Fieser described devastation "a lot worse than expected" after arriving in Venezuela this week following back-to-back earthquakes that killed at least 4,500 people, as CRS and Caritas Venezuela distribute emergency food, hygiene kits and shelter materials to a traumatized population.
3. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly Friday at age 71, with his sister Darline Graham Nordone set to complete his term — a loss that leaves a Republican vacancy on the Judiciary Committee just as it prepares to consider Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general.
4. Cardinal Blase Cupich placed longtime Chicago social justice priest Father Michael Pfleger on leave following a decades-old sexual abuse allegation he strongly denies, with Pfleger suggesting the claim is retaliation for his outspoken advocacy on gun violence, racism and Trump administration policies.
5. Guatemala Brillando, a Catholic-led eye care initiative founded by Pennsylvania optometrist Dr. Doug Villella and now led by the Yee brothers' Visualiza network, opened its fourth eye hospital this week on its path toward eliminating preventable blindness across Guatemala by 2032.

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

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• Ann Widdecombe, a prominent British Catholic politician, author and broadcaster, has died after being fatally attacked in the kitchen of her home in Devon.
• Much has been done to mitigate rates of HIV and AIDS, but more work remains as children are still vulnerable to the virus and the disease it causes, said the Holy See's diplomatic representative to the United Nations in a July 10 address.
• Pope Leo XIV drew large crowds to Castel Gandolfo for his first summer Angelus at the papal residence July 12, with pilgrims packing trains and buses from Rome to join the gathering.
• By bringing together its five current novitiates spread throughout the continent into two new novitiates starting in 2028, the Society of Jesus will be able "to maintain robust cohorts of novices and provide them with the best formators we could." 
• The archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis and students from St. Catherine University in St. Paul donned hard hats and work gloves July 8 to help raise a wall of the first duplex being built in the Twin Cities as part of a national Habitat for Humanity initiative called the Pope Leo Village.

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

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1. Catholic Extension Society announced 46 nominees on June 24th for its 2026-2027 Lumen Christi Award, honoring individuals and groups across the country whose spiritual care and self-sacrifice reflect the light of Christ, with finalists to be named this summer and a $100,000 national honoree selected in the fall.
2. Cardinal Robert McElroy ordained Bishop Gary Studniewski and Bishop Robert Boxie III as new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Washington on Monday, telling roughly 2,500 people gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception that "the face of God smiles upon this archdiocese with intense love."
3. A new mosaic of Our Lady of Gietrzwałd was unveiled in the Vatican Gardens on June 30th, with Polish Church leaders framing it as both a symbol of deepening Poland-Holy See ties and a renewed invitation for Pope Leo XIV to visit the shrine ahead of the 150th anniversary of its 1877 apparitions in 2027.
4. Through Seton Hall Preparatory School's Spectrum Big Brothers program, students build weekly friendships with autistic peers at Academy360 Upper School, embodying what one program director called Pope Francis' vision of a "culture of encounter" from the encyclical "Fratelli Tutti."
5. A Chicago White Sox-themed rosary handcrafted by Indiana hobbyist Kevin Workman reached Pope Leo XIV — an avid White Sox fan — on June 24th through former catcher A.J. Pierzynski, leaving Workman "in tears" over what he called "the biggest thing that's ever happened in my little world."

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

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1. Andy Burnham is poised to become the United Kingdom's first publicly Catholic prime minister later this month, drawing cautious hope from Church leaders who praise his appreciation for Catholic social teaching while questioning whether his liberal positions on abortion, assisted suicide and marriage reflect his stated faith.
2. Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali has chosen to remain in the besieged Sudanese city of El-Obeid — despite daily shelling, drone strikes, and a previous near-fatal assault by paramilitary forces — as a courageous witness to the small Christian community still sheltering there.
3. Women who say they were harmed by the abortion pill sent a July 8th letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche urging him to side with states challenging the Biden-era policy permitting mifepristone to be dispensed by mail, as frustration grows over the Trump DOJ's repeated moves to pause those state lawsuits.
4. Norway's Bishop Fredrik Hansen announced Tuesday that a sainthood cause will open this fall for Nobel Prize-winning author Sigrid Undset — a convert who found Catholicism through medieval research, became a Third Order Dominican, and publicly championed Norwegian resistance to Nazism during World War II.
5. Netflix's new eight-episode adaptation of "Little House on the Prairie," premiering today, embraces the faith, family and community themes of the original while also exploring the Catholic-influenced spiritual life of the Osage people and referencing a real-life Jesuit missionary who served them in the 19th century.

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

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• Catholic leaders and organizations in the U.S. continue to aid Venezuela as that nation recovers from two deadly earthquakes that struck 39 seconds apart June 24.
• Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington said his decision to remove a high-profile priest as an archdiocesan exorcist was driven by the public way he exercised his ministry, not by his specific beliefs about UFOs.
• As the United States marked its 250th anniversary, Ukrainian Catholic bishops urged Americans to reflect on the true meaning of freedom through Ukraine's ongoing fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.
• Father Mike Schmitz, one of the most popular priest-influencers on social media, brought his signature warmth and energy to Fort Lauderdale on his "Parables" tour, inviting audiences to rediscover the timeless message of Christ's Gospel through the parables.
• Pope Leo XIV marked the 250th anniversary of the United States with a relaxed July 4 dinner at the Rome residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, offering a rare glimpse of the first American pope in an informal setting. 

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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 7, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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1. French traditionalist Catholics in communion with Rome are expressing grief over the SSPX schism while rallying behind Pope Leo XIV's September France visit, with the Association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté already providing volunteers and logistical support for events expected to draw nearly 500,000 people in Paris.
2. Father Crepin Martial Monga, a Catholic priest who sheltered thousands of refugees and mediated among armed groups in the Central African Republic, was shot and killed June 29th near his residence in Zémio — a death Church leaders believe was directly linked to his courageous peacebuilding work.
3. The U.S. State Department condemned the June 29th detention of 80-year-old Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata in Nicaragua, as Church observers and exiled advocates say the government's claim that he has returned home safely cannot be verified by anyone close to him.
4. A one-year provision blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding expired July 4th, allowing the nation's largest abortion provider to regain access to hundreds of millions of federal dollars as pro-life groups push for a similar measure in an upcoming Republican reconciliation bill.
5. The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Wisconsin — the only church-approved Marian apparition site in the United States — hosted a Fourth of July celebration honoring 76 Catholic Saints of America, with shrine chaplain Father Nathan Mudd reminding the faithful that their Catholic identity always takes precedence over their American one.

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

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• The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage concluded in Philadelphia with Pope Leo XIV and Archbishop Nelson Pérez urging Catholics to carry Christ's Eucharistic presence forward as a source of renewal, unity and transformation. 
• In a prerecorded message, Pope Leo XIV encouraged pilgrims to see the Eucharist as an indispensable gift that can strengthen the nation's faith as the United States marks its 250th anniversary. 
• Pope Leo XIV arrived at the papal summer residence for nearly three weeks of rest and prayer, reviving a longstanding papal tradition while remembering earthquake victims and the people of Venezuela. 
• Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, an imprisoned leader of an underground Christian church in China, has been released and reunited with his family in the United States, while Hong Kong Catholic publisher Jimmy Lai remains imprisoned. 
• Mexico's World Cup run brought faith and soccer together as Catholics prayed for the national team while Church leaders urged the country's renewed sense of unity to extend beyond the tournament.

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

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• The Vatican has declared the Society of St. Pius X to be "in schism" after the traditionalist group consecrated four bishops without papal approval, marking the most serious rupture since Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's unauthorized episcopal consecrations in 1988.
• The Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has established a procedure for both priests and lay faithful connected to the Society of St. Pius X  to return to Catholic communion, following the society's schismatic act July 1. 
• Conservative Catholics are urging Church leaders to provide stronger pastoral support for traditionalists who remain loyal to the pope after six leaders of the Society of St. Pius X were excommunicated July 2 for consecrating four bishops without papal approval.
• The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage ends July 5 with a closing Mass, procession and celebration in Philadelphia, which will begin with a special video message from Pope Leo XIV.
• For Noah Hajdu, carrying a 130-pound wooden cross up 2,006-foot-high Mount Wachusett in central Massachusetts was more than a physical feat -- it was to honor Jesus Christ.

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Gina Christian of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for July 1, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.

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• Despite a personal appeal from Pope Leo XIV, the Society of St. Pius X went ahead July 1 with the unauthorized consecration of four new bishops at its seminary in Écône, Switzerland. 
• Vice President JD Vance said during a June 30 interview that he sees some of the Vatican's views on immigration ​as "troubling."
• A woman religious in McAllen told OSV News the "power of prayer" was key to the release of Sister Letty Ugboaja, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as she walked to Sunday Mass, but foreign-born religious in the area are on their guard after the incident.
• The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 took up a case regarding whether state and local bans on semiautomatic rifles, sometimes called assault weapons, violate the Second Amendment.
• The Benedictine Confederation has launched a new website to help pilgrims, visitors and spiritual seekers connect with monasteries worldwide as the Church begins a four-year "Journey to Jubilee" leading to the 1,500th anniversary of the founding of Monte Cassino in 2029. 

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

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• The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 upheld West Virginia and Idaho state laws requiring student athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond to their biological sex rather than their gender identity. 
• The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 struck down President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, finding it violated the 14th Amendment. 
• A religious sister on her way to Sunday Mass in the border city of McAllen, Texas, was detained by U.S. Customs and Enforcement agents for several hours June 28.
• Pope Leo XIV has issued a final, heartfelt appeal to the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, urging its leader to halt the unauthorized consecration of new bishops planned for July 1.
• Pope Leo XIV is urging Christians around the world to prepare together for 2033, when the Catholic Church will celebrate an extraordinary Jubilee year marking 2,000 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.