OSV News

St. Mary's Cathedral in Linz made headlines around the world as a controversial sculpture of Mary displayed inside the church was beheaded July 1 by unknown vandals. The sculpture, depicting the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus designed by Austrian artist Esther Strauss, was scheduled to be exhibited in the cathedral for three weeks. The work has drawn criticism from some Catholics who said it was blasphemous.

For unspecified reasons, an Indigenous image of Jesus Christ was "taken in the middle of the night," says a parishioner of St. Joseph Apache Mission, located on tribal land in Mescalero, New Mexico.

A state judge denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's effort to shut down Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants.

In his native Argentina, Pope Francis' vision of "a poor church, for the poor" is a reality.

The Supreme Court has overturned the Chevron deference, reducing the regulatory power of federal agencies — some of which have led to major disputes with the Catholic Church and Catholic entities.

A Massachusetts priest has been placed on administrative leave, following allegations of sexual misconduct involving an apparent adult victim — while an attorney for a separate alleged adult victim accused the diocese of having engaged in a "cover up" regarding the priest.

The Vancouver, British Columbia, Archdiocese and Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation marked Canada's Indigenous Peoples Day by releasing to the public a signed "Sacred Covenant," written in both English and Chinook.

Mexican authorities recently rescued 13 kidnapped migrants from a Ciudad Juárez stash house, where the captives "were beaten, tortured, sexually assaulted and extorted for additional smuggling fees by members of a transnational criminal organization."

The Supreme Court on June 27 dismissed a case concerning abortions for medical emergencies in Idaho, sending the case back to a lower court without resolving the central question of whether a conflict exists between Idaho's abortion restrictions and federal law governing emergency health care.

The Supreme Court June 26 ruled in favor of the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over the government's effort to restrict misinformation on social media on topics including COVID-19.

The Kenyan capital descended into chaos June 25 as protests over legislation dubbed a finance bill left several dead and dozens injured. The country's bishops called for peace and urged the president not to accede to the measure aimed at raising revenue by levying additional taxes.

Church leaders in Jerusalem accused local Israeli authorities of launching a "coordinated attack" against the Christian presence in the Holy Land after several municipalities initiated legal proceedings for alleged municipal tax debts.

The first bishop of a special diocese in Great Britain created for Catholics of the Anglican tradition has welcomed the pope's show of support and predicted the fledgling Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will continue growing and strengthening.

The Supreme Court on June 24 agreed to hear a challenge to a Tennessee state law banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender, the high court's first major step toward weighing in on the controversial issue.

The Catholic Near East Welfare Association honored Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia with its Faith & Culture Award. The presentation took place during the annual Catholic Media Conference, hosted this year in Atlanta June 18-21.

Taking over one of the most troubled dioceses in the country, Bishop Artur Wazny of Sosnowiec didn't waste time ahead of his June 22 installation.

Father Nils Hernandez of Queen of Peace Parish in Waterloo anticipates a turnout of 500 to 1,000 people for the demonstration against the law in Waterloo, July 1. He felt encouraged by the judge’s decision but also noted that the fight against the law must continue. "I feel God has answered some prayers," he said. "We are celebrating that God is with us."

Removing Fr. Marko Rupnik's art from public space "is not a Christian response," Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication, said at the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta.

The number of permanent deacons in America is holding relatively steady, but more than a third of them are also at or approaching the required retirement age for many dioceses. According to experts, the situation may suggest a need for local churches to revisit the Second Vatican Council's vision for the permanent diaconate and rethink how to invite men to discern the vocation.