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Hello, I'm Maggie Murray of OSV News, and this is your OSV newscast for Thursday, March
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12, 2026. Let's catch you up on the Catholic News of the day. Here we go.
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As fighting between the United States, Israel and Iran continues, several U.S. Catholic
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bishops are raising moral concerns about the conflict. Warning, it may not meet the Catholic
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Church's criteria for a just war. Since the start of the war, church leaders have pointed
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to the church's long-standing teaching that armed conflict must meet strict moral conditions
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in order to be considered legitimate. Cardinal Robert McAroy of Washington has been among
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the most direct critics. He said the current conflict fails to meet the just war standard
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and is therefore morally illegitimate. Bishop Anthony Taylor of Little Rock, Arkansas,
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has made similar arguments. Also outlining the church's traditional criteria used to evaluate
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whether military force can be morally justified. The Trump administration has defended the
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joint U.S. Israeli strikes on Iran as necessary to counter threats from Iran. But Cardinal
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McAroy said the church's just war teaching reflects an abiding resistance to war rooted
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in Christ's call to discipleship. He added that the moral questions raised by the conflict
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point to a broader need for dialogue and moral renewal within the United States.
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With the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV has met privately with the Catholic Archbishop of Tehran after
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the prelet was evacuated from Iran amid escalating military strikes. The Pope met March 11th
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with Cardinal Dominique Matthew, the Franciscan Archbishop of Tehran and Isfahan. The Belgian
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born Cardinal had arrived in Rome three days earlier as part of the evacuation of the Italian
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Embassy in Tehran, where the Archdiocese is headquartered. The meeting came the same day
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Pope Leo publicly renewed his appeal for peace during his general audience in St. Peter Square.
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Addressing the faithful, the Pope asked Catholics to continue praying for peace in Iran and
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across the Middle East, particularly for civilians caught in the violence, including children.
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The conflict now in its second week has expanded beyond Iran and into southern Lebanon. Cardinal
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Matthew's whereabouts had been unknown for several days after U.S. and Israeli strikes on February
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28th killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other officials. In a message to a Belgian
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Catholic news outlet, the Cardinal said he left Iran not without regret and sorrow for the country's
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Christian community. Pope Leo XIV has appointed a new leader for the Vatican office responsible for
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the Pope's charitable outreach around the world. The Vatican announced March 12th that Spanish
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Augustinian Bishop Luis Mareen De San Martín will become the prefect of the
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Dicastry for the service of charity. The appointment means Bishop Mareen will oversee charitable works
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carried out in the name of the Pope, including distributing aid to those in need and responding
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to disasters. With the new role, Pope Leo also granted him the rank of Archbishop. Archbishop
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Mareen succeeds Cardinal Conrad Krayewski, who has served for more than a decade as people
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all manner. Cardinal Krayewski will now return to his native Poland as the Metropolitan Archbishop
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of Lutz. The Pope and new Archbishop share a long connection. Archbishop Mareen lived in the same
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Augustinian community in Rome as the future Pope Leo, then Father Robert Prevost, when he served as
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prior general of the order. Reflecting on the Pope's leadership after his election, Mareen said he
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believes Leo is the right person to guide the Church at this moment.
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As measles cases increase across the United States, a Catholic physician in Deakin is reminding
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families that the Church supports vaccination to protect children and communities. Dr. Timothy
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Flanagan, an infectious disease specialist with Brown Medicine and a permanent Deakin in the
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diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, said Catholics should remain vigilant as the illness spreads.
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According to federal health data, the U.S. has already recorded more than 1000 measles cases
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in 2026, making it one of the three worst years for the disease since 2000. Health experts warn
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measles is among the most contagious diseases and can be particularly dangerous for babies and
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young children. However, the measles' mumps and rebella vaccine, commonly known as the MMR
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vaccine, is highly effective. When both doses are received, it is about 97% effective at preventing
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measles. Church teaching has also addressed the issue. In 2017, the Pontifical Academy for Life
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issued updated moral guidance stating that Catholic parents should vaccinate their children for the
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good of their families and the wider community. Across parts of the Midwest, Catholic communities are
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beginning to recover after severe storms and tornadoes left destruction in their wake. At least
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eight people were killed after storms swept through several states between March 6th and March 10th,
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with millions more still under tornado warnings as of March 11th. In Canca-Kee, Illinois,
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Bishop McNamara Catholic School asked for prayers for families affected by the storms.
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School officials said many families in the area, including those connected to the school,
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suffered damage or the loss of their homes and belongings. Yet amid the destruction,
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some signs of hope emerged. The school's newly built chapel, located at the center of its building,
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remained untouched even though water entered other parts of the structure through the roof.
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In Three Rivers, Michigan, students at Immaculate Conception School also experienced the
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storm's danger firsthand. During a tornado alert, March 6th students sheltered in place inside
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the school. While waiting out the storm, they prayed and sang the hymn, this little light of mine
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together in the dark.
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In Three Rivers, Michigan, students at Immaculate Conception School also experienced the storm's danger