Catholic scholar recalls ministry, impact of late founder of Focus on the Family August 27, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: News, Obituaries, Respect Life, World News In 2014, James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family and a longtime broadcaster, became one of the first evangelical Christian leaders invited to speak at the national March for Life, joining a group of speakers that in past years had been dominated by Catholic clergy and Catholic members of Congress.
6 pro-life activists face state charges for abortion clinic ‘rescue’ in Pennsylvania August 19, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: News, Respect Life, World News Six pro-life activists, a majority of them Catholics including two recently pardoned by President Donald Trump, are now facing state charges for a July 31 Red Rose Rescue abortion clinic “rescue” in Upland, Pa., near Philadelphia, that temporarily disrupted its activities.
Baltimore NBCC leader among People of Life awards winners August 13, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Local News, National Black Congress, News, Respect Life The four pro-life advocates honored Aug. 11 at the annual “People of Life” awards built legacies for their work protesting outside abortion clinics, encouraging Black Catholic leaders for a culture of life, and opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Movie Review: ‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ July 30, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: Movie & Television Reviews “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight” is writer-director Embeth Davidtz’s adaptation of Alexandra Fuller’s 2001 memoir of her childhood in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). The respectful and evocative drama recounts its protagonist’s slowly dawning recognition of racial inequality in her homeland.
Movie Review: ‘Sorry, Baby’ July 10, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: Movie & Television Reviews It’s too simplistic to refer to “Sorry, Baby” (A24) as a #MeToo movie. Yet the film is topical as well as important and compelling.
Father Pete Literal will retire after ministering for decades in prisons, parishes and cultural outreach June 25, 2025By Kurt Jensen Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Retirement Father Pete D. Literal, the pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Hydes who will retire July 1 at age 73, took a long road to becoming a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Need for more Catholic Army chaplains to serve military flock as great as ever, say two priests June 20, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: News, Vocations, World News It’s a question often asked about Catholic chaplains serving in the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services: Are there enough of them for the estimated 250,000 Catholics — 25 percent percent of the U.S. armed forces — serving worldwide?
High court sends Catholic groups’ challenge to N.Y. abortion-coverage mandate back to state courts June 17, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: News, Respect Life, Supreme Court, World News The fight by religious groups against New York state’s abortion mandate requiring most private insurance plans to cover abortion has renewed life.
How faith-based higher education can best serve society is focus of symposium June 12, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: Colleges, News, World News The second convening of the Commission on Faith-Based Colleges and Universities of the American Council on Education was the first for Holy Cross Father Robert A. Dowd, who became the 18th president of the University of Notre Dame last September.
‘The Ritual’ seeks to portray exorcism respectfully June 5, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: Movie & Television Reviews, News, World News One thing seems certain about the exorcism-themed movie “The Ritual” (XYZ); it is not intended as the first installment in a franchise.
Future pope helped found Villanovans for Life, marched against Roe v. Wade May 29, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: Colleges, News, Respect Life, Vatican, World News The four years Robert F. Prevost spent at Villanova University in Philadelphia — from the fall of 1973 until May 1977, when he graduated with a degree in mathematics and began his novitiate with the Augustinian order — included the opening salvos of the pro-life movement.
Movie Review: ‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ May 28, 2025By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: Movie & Television Reviews The Grim Reaper will have his revenge on those who try to cheat him of his haul. Such is the dubious message of the franchise whose sixth installment, “Final Destination Bloodlines” (Warner Bros.), maintains the series’ high splatter factor while throwing in some “moral” posturing that only makes the film more repellant.
