Hello, I'm Gina Christian, and you're listening to our OSV newscast for Friday, March 27th,
Let's catch you up on the Catholic news of the day.
In downtown El Paso, hundreds of people joined in a march and vigil, calling for an end to
master deportations and mass detentions.
The event took place on March 24th, commemorating the feast of the martyr St. Oscar Romero,
and it was led by El Paso Bishop Mark Sites and other Catholic bishops, including Bishop
Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, who's the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops Committee on Migration.
Other clergy and organizations were also on hand.
The region is home to camp East Montana, one of the largest mass detention centers in
Bishop Sites, who earlier this month released a pastoral letter on mass deportations and
We are coming together to pray and to show our community's concern.
We hope it moves our leaders to think maybe we've gone too far.
The bishop pointed to government data showing over 70% of the 68,000 people in immigration
detention have no criminal convictions, and he noted they should have been given the
opportunity to rectify their situation under the law.
The grave injustice to lock up people who did what was necessary to survive and care for
As part of commemorating the feast of St. Oscar Romero, a first-class relic of a piece
of bloodstained cloth from the martyr's assassination day was on display during the March.
In France, more than 20,000 catacuments are preparing to enter the church this Easter,
working a 20% increase over last year.
According to figures released March 25 by the French bishops, more than 13,000 adults
and over 8,000 teens will be baptized during the April 4th Easter vigil.
The rise continues a steady upward trend, especially among adults, whose numbers have more
than tripled since 2016.
Archbishop Olivier Dujamé called the surge both surprising and encouraging, pointing
to a growing thirst for God in today's society.
Most of the adult catacuments are between 18 and 40, with women making up about 62%.
Many cite personal hardship, spiritual experiences, or deeper exposure to Christianity as key
reasons for seeking baptism.
Church leaders say the challenge now is long-term formation.
New diocesan initiatives aim to support converts, while also renewing faith among long-time
Bishop Dujamé said that new initiatives across several dioceses are emerging in response
to what he called this joyful new reality.
Those include organizing assemblies, services meant to better accompany the newly baptized
The Archbishop also said such mobilization has a boomerang effect, which gives those who
are veterans in Christian life a chance to revisit their faith.
These bishops are urging a renewed commitment to care and accompaniment, following the
euthanasia death of 25-year-old Noelia Castillo.
In a March 26 statement, leaders of the Spanish bishops conference said the response to human
suffering cannot be to shorten the path, but to walk it together.
Castillo, who became paraplegic after a 2022 suicide attempt, following years of trauma
and abuse, was granted legal permission to end her life.
Courts in Catalonia and Europe upheld the decision, and she died yesterday in Barcelona.
The bishops said her case reflects not just personal anguish, but broader societal failures,
including gaps in psychological care and support.
They stressed that euthanasia is not a true medical response, but a breaking of the bond
Reaffirming the church's defense of human dignity, the bishops called for stronger mental
health resources, deeper human accompaniment, and a culture that abandons no one, especially
the most vulnerable.
Bioethics professor Elena Postigo said in her viral ex-post that Castillo did not need
the Spanish state to offer her death, but to give back meaning, help, and the possibility
of healing in her life.
Cardinal Arthur Roach is urging Catholics to see liturgical debates through the lens
of unity, not personal preference.
In a March 17 interview with OSV News at the Vatican, the prefect of the Dicastery for
Divine Worship said the mass is a communal act rooted in tradition, not something shaped
by individual taste.
His remarks follow renewed discussion over a document he shared with Cardinal's defending
post-Vaticantu reforms and supporting restrictions on the pre-concilier mass outlined in Pope Francis
Apostolic Letter, Tradicione Scostotes.
While critics, especially among traditionalist Catholics, have pushed back, Cardinal Roach
emphasized that the Eucharist is received, not reinvented.
He said liturgical abuses are not unique to the post-Second Vatican Council mass, but
they've existed throughout the church's history, going back to the time of Saint Paul
in Corinth, and he added they're always caused by a lack of formation or a deep misunderstanding.
He acknowledged the appeal of the Latin mass, citing its silence and reverence, but
he said those qualities should also mark the modern liturgy, ultimately the Cardinal warned
that treating the liturgy is something to control, risks losing sight of God, and undermining
And finally, as Russia's war in Ukraine rages on, bazillion sisters, the Vastiana Carvatska,
Inokensia Bratsiv, and Lucia Borashko shared with OSV News their experiences of ministering
in a nation both ravaged and resilient, a place where faith is tested to the extreme
The trio spoke with me as they traveled to the US earlier this month, meeting with Metropolitan
Archbishop Boris Kuzjak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, and with Ukrainian
Catholic parishioners in the Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago areas.
In their presentations, which included a video showing their outreach throughout Ukraine,
the sisters thanked donors for their support of a wartime ministry they never envisioned
Amid the dangers of war, the sisters ensure their traditional ministries of Catechesis and
Charitable Works continue, but they're also expanding their expertise in psychological
support to address widespread trauma.
The sisters help Ukrainians wrestle with the theological challenge of believing in God's
goodness as Russian atrocities continue.
Reluctantly, they've discussed relocating their three Zaporizha members to the West
of Ukraine if Russian forces advance further, but Sister Lucia, her voice filled with emotion,
said with so many things to do to serve children youth and all the elderly, there's no desire
She said, we do not have time to leave, and how can we leave if they stay there?
Be sure to listen to my podcast interview with the sisters, which is right here on this
And that's your OSV newscast for today, I'm Gina Christian, check out the show notes
for a link to our website where you can find the stories in this episode, make sure to
subscribe to this podcast, follow us on social media, and bookmark OSVNews.com.
We'll be back on Monday, thanks so much for listening, and God bless.
OSV News has been an OSV News production, to learn more, visit OSVNews.com.
