Cardinal Francis Spellman: A dramatic, hard-fought rise to the top April 25, 2026By Russell Shaw OSV News Filed Under: America's 250th anniversary, Commentary Many cardinals have had books written about them, but few have become the fictionalized heroes of best-selling novels. Cardinal Francis J. Spellman, archbishop of New York from 1939 to 1967, was one — possibly the only one.
‘Les Misérables’ and the moral questions behind migration April 22, 2026By Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Immigration and Migration On a recent vacation, I read Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables.” Hugo was truly a poet and philosopher. “Les Misérables” became one of his most popular works through its musical presentation on Broadway and later as a film. It tells various stories about life with distinct and complicated moral issues that need resolution.
Question Corner: Is there a time limit on a declaration of nullity appeal to the Roman Rota? April 22, 2026By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner I have a question about appeals to Rome of the declaration of nullity process. The metropolitan tribunal of my local archdiocese has completed their review of the case and stated that it has been proved that there is sufficient ground to find the marriage invalid (“decision in the affirmative”).
Pope Leo XIV, the world’s conscience: A Jewish perspective April 22, 2026By Menachem Z. Rosensaft OSV News Filed Under: Commentary The last thing a Jewish academic like myself with no grounding in Christian theology should want to do at this particular time is to weigh in on the attacks against Pope Leo XIV by President Trump, Vice President Vance, Speaker Johnson and others.
The Pope and the President: Means and Ends April 21, 2026By Father Thomas Ulshafer, P.S.S. Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary When President Donald Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social on April 12, he sidestepped the substance of the pope’s message.
Old lines, new thoughts: Writing out a Gospel by hand April 20, 2026By Elizabeth Scalia OSV News Filed Under: Commentary Because my Lent took a nosedive about two-thirds of the way through, I am still immersed in a project I undertook in order to get my spiritual groove back: Writing out the Gospel of Mark, in longhand.
Donuts After Mass, Please, and Make Them Delicious April 19, 2026By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window When Seminarian Andrew Chase was assigned to St. Joseph’s in Cockeysville, he learned he would be responsible for the donuts and coffee after Mass.
New York Gov. Al Smith: Perseverance in both political endeavors, faith April 18, 2026By Russell Shaw OSV News Filed Under: America's 250th anniversary, Commentary To President Franklin Roosevelt, he was the “Happy Warrior.” To suspicious Protestants, he was a pawn of the pope. Amid such conflicting views as these, the remarkable political career of Al Smith was forged.
Question Corner: Is it ever acceptable to say something other than ‘amen’ when receiving Communion? April 16, 2026By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner Although the General Instruction of the Roman Missal does go on to give some minor variations of this exchange, it never lists any other communicants’ responses besides “amen,” nor does it envision or provide for alternative responses as a possibility.
Odds on Peter: Trump vs the Pope April 15, 2026By Elizabeth Scalia OSV News Filed Under: Commentary Catholics will always be loyalty suspects in the United States of America. We love our country, but we will not (and should not) put it before Christ or his Church or the successors to his apostles.
An Open Letter to Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J. April 15, 2026By George Weigel Syndicated Columnist Filed Under: Commentary, The Catholic Difference Permit the suggestion, Your Eminence, that the Church’s pastors should avoid causing further confusion (and, indeed, whatever suffering is caused by those confusions) by helping God’s people embrace the mysteries of faith in love, rather than by suggesting that what has been settled by divine revelation and the authoritative teaching of the Church (in the 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis) is not, in fact, settled.
Common sense slowly emerges for protecting women’s athletics April 13, 2026By Kenneth Craycraft OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Sports On March 26, the International Olympic Committee made an announcement that is simultaneously surprising and banal. The IOC declared that only women are eligible to participate in women’s events in the Olympics. Of course, saying that women’s events are limited to women is as newsworthy as a declaration that water is wet.
