The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 heard oral arguments in two cases concerning state laws requiring student athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond to their biological sex rather than their gender identity.

The historic altar of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Monastery of St. Mark in Jerusalem has been unveiled for the first time in nearly 350 years, following an extensive restoration.

Pope Leo has established that from Jan. 10, following the closing of the church’s Jubilee Year, until Jan. 10, 2027, a special Year of St. Francis may be proclaimed, in which every Christian, “following the example of the Saint of Assisi, may himself become a model of holiness of life and a constant witness of peace.”

The ongoing emigration of millions of Venezuelans from their native country is the largest recorded refugee crisis in the Americas. According to The Associated Press, about 8 million people have fled the country since 2014.

As the U.S. marked its annual observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Jan. 11, anti-trafficking advocates told OSV News their work is facing challenges due to funding downturns and fears of reprisal amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns.

While Catholics have been accustomed to the famed silver papal staff featuring the suffering of Christ crucified and used by the pontiffs for decades, a new staff, or crosier, used by Pope Leo XIV, emphasized the victory of the risen Christ over death.

President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet with Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Jan. 12, according to the White House schedule.

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado asked for Pope Leo XIV’s help in securing the release of political prisoners in the country following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Just as we wouldn’t leave newborns without clothes or food, we cannot leave them without faith and baptism, Pope Leo XIV told parents of children he baptized in the splendor and beauty of the Sistine Chapel Jan. 11.

Pope Leo XIV strongly condemned the Church’s failure to welcome survivors of sexual abuse, calling it a “scandal” that deepens their suffering, even though the issue was not a main topic at the Jan. 7-8 extraordinary consistory in Rome.