Destroying grain is a “grave offense to God,” Pope Francis said, appealing to authorities in Russia as “my brothers” and urging them to resume cooperating with a United Nations’ initiative to guarantee the safe transport of grain out of Ukraine.

Priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have called for breaking ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, following a Russian attack on Odesa that destroyed a historic cathedral while killing two and injuring at least 22, including four children.

Jessica Smith’s kids, ages 16 to 22, will be among the 400,000 registered young adults and as many as 2 million general pilgrims anticipated to attend World Youth Day this year with Pope Francis.

Some 20 Jewish and Christian scholars began a three-month hybrid course in mid-July at the Vatican Library to dig into more than 1,000 years of teachings contained in more than 800 ancient Hebrew manuscripts from the 9th to 16th centuries housed in its collections.

The chairman of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, has described religious freedom conditions in Nigeria as “abysmal.”

The issue of nuclear weapons is a “scary, difficult topic” but one “we have to face,” especially as Catholics, Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester said.

As Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on, young Ukrainian Catholics from the U.S. are traveling to World Youth Day with a mix of hope, excitement and urgency.

Natural family planning, or NFP, provides “a skill set” to help Catholic and Christian couples “live out their beliefs that Christ is involved” in marriage and family life, a national expert told OSV News.

An Ohio measure that would codify abortion access in the state’s constitution has qualified for the November ballot, but its fate may be determined by the outcome of a special election in August that raises the threshold for amending the state’s constitution.

Former Vice President Mike Pence defended the role of faith in public life at a Catholic conference on July 27.