The level of trust in the Catholic Church in Poland hit a record low with only one third of traditionally Catholic Poles trusting the church.

The strength of families and their ability to thrive and witness as a “domestic church” require support from the wider church and from governments, particularly in the face of poverty, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Catholic University of America, the national university founded by the U.S. bishops, announced that Taylor Black, director of AI & Venture Ecosystems in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, has been named founding director of a new interdisciplinary institute on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

Depending on the context, the concept of pronatalism — encouraging people to have children, or the promotion of childbearing — can either be cause to celebrate the critical role of the family in society; a techno-elitist vision of a future populated by humans engineered for specific traits; or a cringe-worthy expression of anti-immigrant nativism.

For members of religious orders, obedience is “an act of love” and a powerful witness to the world of how gestures of selflessness are needed to build true community, Pope Leo said.

Bishop Timothy C. Senior of Harrisburg said he was “deeply saddened” by a shooting in rural Pennsylvania that claimed the lives of three police officers and injured two others.

An independent United Nations inquiry commission has concluded Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, but a “serious weakness” in the U.N.’s Security Council could prevent taking action in accord with the Genocide Convention, said Father Elias D. Mallon, special assistant to the president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission.

French Christians are reeling after the brutal murder of Ashur Sarnaya, a 45-year-old disabled Iraqi Chaldean Catholic, stabbed in the throat outside his Lyon apartment.

Pope Leo XIV turned 70 on Sept. 14, and more than 2 million prayers and works from 72 countries around the world were offered for him for the occasion through an OSV News-organized initiative, making up one very special “spiritual birthday bouquet” of prayer, love and support.

Human rights campaigners have accused the Belarus government of using imprisoned Catholic priests as “hostages,” as a Polish Carmelite became the latest detained for alleged espionage.