The Catholic bishops of Washington state asked a federal court to block a new law requiring clergy to report child abuse or neglect without exceptions for clergy-penitent privilege.
Expectant mom seeking political asylum in U.S. urges protection of birthright citizenship
An asylum-seeker in the U.S. from Cuba told OSV News that she is spending the final part of her pregnancy on bedrest amid anxiety about her unborn child’s future due to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that would bar her child from U.S. citizenship.
As first U.S.-born pontiff, Pope Leo may be ‘more attuned’ to polarization issue, analysts say
Pope Leo XIV, as the first U.S.-born pope, may bring unique insight to the problem of polarization in the U.S. and in the U.S. church, analysts told OSV News.
Supreme Court rules in favor of Wisconsin Catholic agency over religious exemption
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 5 unanimously ruled in favor of the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, which had asked the high court to overturn a decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court the agency argued discounted its religious identity.
Analysts: Trump’s action on Harvard, Columbia could have implications for religious groups
Some of the steps the Trump administration has taken toward secular universities could also have long-term implications for religious universities and organizations, analysts told OSV News.
FBI memo with ‘anti-Catholic terminology’ said to be distributed to over 1,000 FBI agents
Amid an investigation into a controversial and retracted FBI memo that suggested some “radical traditionalist” Catholics pose threats of racial or ethnically motivated violence, a GOP senator alleged the FBI distributed the memo that “used anti-Catholic terminology” more widely than previously known.
Trump administration revokes Biden-era abortion directive for emergency rooms
The Trump administration announced June 3 that it would revoke Biden-era guidance to the nation’s hospitals directing them to perform abortions in emergency circumstances even in states that banned the procedure.
Dolan: N.Y. lawmakers ‘may conclude that some lives aren’t worth living’
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York urged Empire State lawmakers to reject legislation that would legalize physician-assisted suicide.
Washington bishops sue over mandatory reporter law’s lack of Catholic confession protections
Washington state’s bishops filed a lawsuit May 29 over a new law requiring clergy to report child abuse or neglect without exceptions for clergy-penitent privilege.
Missouri Supreme Court leaves abortion ban in place, for now
The Missouri Supreme Court on May 27 overturned a pair of lower court rulings that had blocked the state’s abortion restrictions, effectively leaving its ban in place — for now.
Supreme Court rejects Indigenous coalition’s appeal over mine’s threat to sacred site
The U.S. Supreme Court on May 27 rejected an appeal from a coalition of Western Apache people, along with other Native American and non-Indigenous supporters, that sought to protect their sacred site at Oak Flat, Ariz., from destruction by a copper mining giant.
U.S. bishops urge young people to ‘lead the way’ on climate crisis
In a letter to mark the 10th anniversary of the late Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’,” U.S. bishops have urged young people to “lead the way” on the climate crisis.