Attacks on the Catholic Church in Nicaragua have fallen in 2025, but a report on church persecution in the Central American county attributes the decline to few priests and religious reporting the crimes and harassment committed against them and church property.

Blessing her forehead and both hands with holy water from Lourdes, France, as she lay unconscious in a hospital bed in Minneapolis, Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Izen of St. Paul and Minneapolis prayed for 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, left in critical condition with head injuries when bullets tore through Annunciation’s church in Minneapolis one week before.

Leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church have condemned the assassination of a Ukrainian politician who was instrumental to that nation’s post-Soviet independence, as authorities investigate the killer’s ties to Russian intelligence.

Pope Leo XIV publicly called on the leaders of Sudan’s warring factions to negotiate an end to the violence and to ensure aid can reach desperate civilians.

Pope Leo XIV turns 70 on Sept. 14, and OSV News is celebrating by gathering a host of prayers into a very special “spiritual birthday bouquet” for the Holy Father. The best part? Everyone can participate.

The human longing for love is not a sign of weakness but demonstrates that no one is completely self-sufficient and that salvation comes from letting oneself be loved and assisted by God, Pope Leo XIV said.

A longtime Irish missionary in Haiti has been freed after nearly a month of captivity. Gena Heraty, who has been working in Haiti for 30 years, was freed along with the other hostages captured Aug. 3 after gunmen breached the Saint-Hélène orphanage in Kenscoff, near Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince.

Participating in the ecumenical Season of Creation, Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of September is “for our relationship with all of creation.”

An English archbishop has called on Catholics to write to members of the House of Lords to urge them to oppose an assisted suicide bill which could trigger the closure of church-run hospices and care homes.

Law enforcement officials arrested an Alabama man after he allegedly made criminal threats against an Orange County, California, church, and a cache of ammunition and body armor was found in his vehicle, authorities said Sept. 2.