The whir and hiss of printing presses at Our Sunday Visitor are background music for my writing today, and I can’t help but feel a bit of connection with the first printing presses Archbishop John F. Noll bought over a hundred years ago that would be the start of OSV.
The OSV News team just spent a week together at headquarters in Huntington, Ind., praying, strategizing and enjoying each other’s company. We also turned out some news stories, a selection of which are below.
But even after several long days of work, I think we’re all still looking forward to the start of next week — we’re quite blessed to be bringing you the news.
Megan Marley
Digital Editor
P.S.: Enjoy reading this roundup? Sign up to receive our emails here.
Faith and prayer sustained him, says Ukrainian Catholic priest captured, tortured by Russia
Faith, prayer and a transcendent hope in Christ sustained a Ukrainian Catholic priest amid more than a year and a half of Russian captivity and torture — and now, he is sharing his story to remind others that God “loves us and wants to save us.”
Walz, Vance records give insight into presidential contenders vis-a-vis Catholic concerns
While the selection of a running mate in recent decades has had little discernible electoral impact on elections, experts told OSV News the selection of vice presidential candidates can be a signal of how a presidential candidate intends to campaign or govern, including in areas of interest to Catholics such as abortion, climate, immigration and labor.
Seitz at the deadly Darien Gap: ‘You could see the suffering in their faces’
Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, recently spoke with OSV News following his return from the 10th Meeting of Bishops and Migration Pastoral Agents of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, which took place Aug. 19-23 in Panama. Bishop Seitz and several fellow bishops — including Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development — made a pastoral visit to the Darien Gap. The remote region, located on the border between Colombia and Panama, has become a major and deadly migration route, as thousands navigate its rugged, dense terrain while also battling crime and disease.
2 Ohio priests vie with family members for legal custody of a toddler in their care
In an unusual case, two priests in Steubenville are fighting for legal custody of a toddler who is presently under their care.
Congolese Catholic Church leaders concerned as mpox marches through country
As Congo remained the epicenter of the latest mpox outbreak, Catholic Church leaders in the country were calling for increased action, while expressing concern at the surging cases.
Catholic doctors condemn kidnapping of Nigerian Catholic medical students
Catholic health care professionals have condemned the Aug. 15 kidnapping of 20 Catholic medical students in Nigeria.
Clashing pro-life and pro-abortion amendments await Nebraska voters in November
This fall, Nebraska voters will face two conflicting constitutional amendments on abortion on the same ballot — what is believed to be a historic first for the state.
Guatemala cardinal: Drug cartels wield ‘total power’ on border with Mexico
Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, has warned that drug cartels control the border between Mexico and Guatemala, provoking spasms of violence which have sent hundreds of Mexicans fleeing into his diocese.
Aussies volunteering in East Timor say excitement is growing for Pope Francis’ visit
Australian volunteers working in East Timor say excitement is growing ahead of Pope Francis’ visit there in September, when more than half of the mostly Catholic population is expected to converge on the capital Dili.
Adoration anchors one’s life in Jesus, pope says
CNS ROME: The best way to ensure evangelization is about Jesus and not about oneself is to spend time in prayer and especially in Eucharistic adoration, Pope Francis told members of the Oblates of St. Joseph.
Holy Land patriarchs call for rapid cease-fire as war’s one-year mark approaches
With the one-year mark approaching of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, spurred by the Hamas attack on southern Israeli agricultural communities Oct. 7, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem urged the warring sides to “reach a rapid agreement” for a cease-fire.
Catholics in Southern Italian diocese protest abuse cover up
Catholics in the Southern Italian city of Enna, Sicily, protested the local church’s role in covering up sexual abuse after a court recently ruled that the diocesan bishop sought to protect a priest accused of having abused several minors as a seminarian.
Should general absolution be a more regular practice?
QUESTION CORNER: For some background, “general absolution” is sacramental absolution a priest confers on a large group of people all at once, without having heard the spoken confessions of each individual’s sins. As one might expect, the church reserves general absolution for fairly extreme situations.