As Pakistan’s religious minorities continue to face rights violations, that nation’s Catholic bishops are fostering hope the faithful can live out their faith with confidence.

The bishops of France are urging the faithful to take part in a prayer novena that began June 21, as lawmakers move closer to a pivotal vote on legislation that could permanently legalize “assisted dying” in the country.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear its case and the land has been transferred, an Indigenous coalition seeking to protect its sacred site at Oak Flat in Arizona from destruction by a copper mining giant continues its legal efforts, the group’s lawyer told OSV News.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa praised the hundreds of Jordanian Catholics and other Christians gathered June 19 for a celebratory Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Mount for maintaining their faith in turbulent and challenging times as part of their annual pilgrimage.

As the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary, a number of faith and civic leaders will be on hand as Pope Leo XIV accepts — via livestream from the Vatican — a major honor for his efforts to promote religious liberty, along with freedom of expression and conscience.

World hunger has only worsened as conflicts in the world take priority over human lives and weaponry is allowed more distribution than basic humanitarian needs, Pope Leo XIV said.

Karen Callaway, longtime photo editor for the Chicago Catholic, received the 2026 St. Francis de Sales Award from the Catholic Media Association at a luncheon on the final day of its annual conference June 16-19 in Atlantic City.

Pope Leo XIV knelt in prayer at the tomb of St. Augustine June 20, returning to the basilica where he once guided the late Pope Benedict XVI as the leader of the Augustinian order, only this time as the first Augustinian pope in history.

Pope Leo XIV venerated a relic of the heart of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first U.S. citizen ever canonized a saint, during a visit June 20 to her hometown in northern Italy, saying that her missionary devotion to migrants speaks directly to the challenges of today’s world.

The Trump administration signed a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, with Iranian officials, a tentative framework to end the war in Iran, but uncertainty remained about an end to the conflict.