Why some Catholic schools are going low-tech in the age of AI August 19, 2026By Zoey Maraist OSV News Filed Under: AI, Feature, News, Schools, World News Last year, the parochial school stopped providing digital devices to students, instead offering occasional computer time through shared computer carts. “We’ve found kids have actually learned more, they are retaining more,” he said. “I think we learn better from human beings than we do from machines.”
Sacred music must be ‘dignified,’ reflecting the mystery being celebrated, pope says August 19, 2026By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Singing and playing music during the liturgy is an integral and necessary part of the celebration, which means it is much more than something “decorative,” Pope Leo XIV said.
Threatened harvest and daily harassment rattle West Bank’s last Christian village August 19, 2026By Judith Sudilovsky OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News For the past three months, Israeli settlers have been bringing their sheep herd up to the Kaabnah family compound just outside Taybeh village twice a day like clockwork, in the morning and in the evening.
Hispanic leaders learn to build a stronger ministry together August 18, 2026By Aline Behar Kado Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Hispanic Ministry, Local News, News Twenty years ago, Wednesday night Mass in Spanish at Christ the King in Glen Burnie drew about 10 people. Today, the Hispanic community there and at neighboring St. Bernadette in Severn fills three crowded Masses every weekend – a surge of growth that has brought new energy and new growing pains to the pastorate’s ministries.
Florida Catholic bishops push back on state AG’s threat to participation in school voucher program August 18, 2026By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, World News The Catholic bishops of Florida issued a staunch defense of their ability to determine policies for Catholic schools after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent them a letter demanding that Catholic schools in the Sunshine State adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements or risk their ability to participate in the state’s school voucher program.
USCCB’s education director reflects on Catholic school landscape as school year begins August 18, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Schools, World News With a new school year on the horizon, OSV News asked John DeJak, director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Catholic Education, to provide an overview of Catholic education in America. As a former teacher and administrator who has served in both diocesan and independent schools since the late 1990s, DeJak is uniquely positioned to assess the state of the nation’s approximately 5,800 Catholic schools, which educate nearly 1.7 million students. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
San Antonio priest laicized, excommunicated after calling Popes Francis and Leo ‘usurpers’ August 18, 2026By Simone Orendain OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News A priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio who was “found guilty of schism” has been removed from the clerical state and excommunicated, according to the archbishop of the archdiocese.
Pope offers prayers for Zimbabwe ferry disaster as death toll passes 90 August 18, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV sent condolences to the families of the victims of a tragic ferry accident in Zimbabwe that has killed over 90 people.
Pope calls for end to West Bank violence, pursuit of two-state solution August 17, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Warning against increased violence in the West Bank, Pope Leo XIV urged world leaders to decisively pursue an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Pope ‘saddened’ by devastation in Indonesia following earthquake August 17, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV conveyed his solidarity with the people of Indonesia after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country’s eastern coast, triggering a tsunami warning and leaving thousands displaced in the aftermath.
True beauty found in enduring love, which ‘ennobles and lifts us up,’ pope says on feast of Assumption August 16, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Christians are called to reflect Mary’s authentic beauty, which is revealed through a life of enduring love rather than worldly aesthetic standards, Pope Leo XIV said.
Values, service highlight nursing career spanning 59 years August 14, 2026By Samantha Smith Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Health Care, Local News, News For 59 years, Jacqueline “Jackie” Brock has built her nursing career around a simple calling: caring for people when they are at their most vulnerable. At Ascension St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, she has served patients in orthopedic nursing, the emergency department, operating room and registration area, bringing the hospital’s mission and values into each role.
