OSV News

Argentines working in humble barrios, or neighborhoods, and the people they serve, prayed for the health of Pope Francis at one of the country's most important Catholic shrines.

"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose," Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement.

Journalists dismissed by the Trump administration's gutting of the federally funded Voice of America broadcaster "will not be silenced," said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia.

Two Philippine priests who work with those affected by their country's deadly anti-drug campaign under then-President Rodrigo Duterte are closely monitoring developments in the former president's March 11 arrest and detention at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. They are following the news with elation and cautious hope he will be brought to justice.

Thousands of migrants are heading back to South America after new U.S. immigration policies, including the cancellation of the CBP One program, have made it harder for them to seek asylum in the U.S.

Discipline and deliciousness aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, said certified executive chef Jim Churches, president of the American Culinary Federation's Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association and a member of St. Patrick Parish in Brighton, Michigan.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed since March 6 as Syria's security forces battled armed supporters of former Syria president Bashar Assad.

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, is spearheading a march and vigil to protest the Trump administration's plans for mass deportations on the feast of St. Óscar Romero. Seitz will be joined by Cardinal Fabbio Baggio of Bassano del Grappa, Italy, the undersecretary of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, as well as bishops from the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The U.S. Department of Education said March 11 it planned to cut about 50% of its workforce. Such cuts could also impact Catholic education, experts told OSV News.

The Mexican bishops' conference reiterated a call for unity as the country deals with threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who promises to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican exports if migrants continue crossing the U.S. border and fentanyl is not stamped out.

"I hope that today, Ukraine can give America hope to not be afraid," said Metropolitan Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. "Say what you have to say. Say what is true. Witness. Make a stand for the immigrants, for the poor, for the unjustly fired."

In February, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging his administration's support for in vitro fertilization, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Medical Association and other groups issued statements opposing the move, highlighting the many ethical problems with IVF.
 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said March 10 that just 18% of programs of the now-shuttered U.S. Agency for International Development will remain intact, and those will now fall under his purview at the State Department.

Poland's day of prayer for victims of clerical sexual abuse, scheduled each year for the first Friday in Lent, was overshadowed March 7 by a controversial opinion from the legal council of the Polish bishops' conference regarding an independent commission for the investigation of abuse cases that has been under development for the past two years.

As South Carolina prepared to carry out the first execution by firing squad in the U.S. since 2010, Catholic activists against the death penalty had sought clemency from that state's governor.

Cardinal McElroy was the principal celebrant and homilist and distributed ashes during the Ash Wednesday Mass. It was his first public Mass in the archdiocese since Pope Francis appointed him Jan. 6 to succeed the retiring archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory. Cardinal McElroy will be installed March 11.

President Donald Trump touted the "swift and unrelenting action" taken by his second administration in its first six weeks, telling lawmakers March 4 in an address to a joint session of Congress he was "just getting started."

Ukrainian bishops spoke up as international reaction continued over U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance's Feb. 28 televised White House clash with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Catholic bishops along both sides of the Texas-Mexico border issued a statement during a Feb. 28 press conference that capped a Feb. 26-28 meeting, held biannually for 40 years "to coordinate efforts in our shared mission to proclaim the Gospel."

Some Catholic policy analysts expressed concern about potential cuts to key safety net programs, such as Medicaid, a health care program for low-income Americans, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.