U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)

The same week as the State of the Union in Washington, an international religious freedom watchdog flagged Turkey and bishops addressed the 2026 Farm Bill.

The cause of international religious freedom is tied to global stability and is increasingly threatened by authoritarian regimes, said speakers and participants in the sixth annual International Religious Freedom Summit.

President Daniel Ortega’s ban on religious processions has intensified in Nicaragua, and now faithful at Masses “cannot pray out loud,” said one witness.

The Supreme Court on Dec. 5 said it would take up a case regarding the Trump administration’s executive order to end birthright citizenship.

Religious freedom violations are an early warning sign of where mass atrocities could occur around the globe, a new report said.

The U.S. House approved Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, USAID closed after six decades, and a religious freedom watchdog issued a report on Russia.

In Russia, one criminal law and one civil law have been used to prosecute “blasphemy” and enforce compliance with President Vladimir Putin’s government.

“It is heartening to see His Holiness speak forcefully on religious freedom so early on in his pontificate,” USCIRF said in a statement.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom unveiled its 2025 annual report March 25 in Washington.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., withdrew Nov. 21 as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general amid controversy about a federal sex trafficking investigation that imperiled …