Jessie Buckley’s Pro-Family Oscars Speech, Lou Holtz Buried at Notre Dame, Supreme Court Oral Arguments for Haitian TPS, Phoenix Immigration Ministry Conference, and Pope Leo XIV on Abuse Prevention

Hello, I'm Maggie Murray of OSV News, and this is your OSV newscast for Tuesday, March

17th, 2026, wishing everybody a happy St. Patrick's Day.

With that, let's catch you up on the Catholic News of the day.

Here we go.

This St. Patrick's Day, a Catholic school in Thurl's County Tipperary, is celebrating

one of its own.

Jesse Buckley, an alumna of the Ursula & Convent School, took home the Oscar for Best

Actress on Sunday, March 15th, for her role as Anya Shakespeare in the film Hamnet.

But it wasn't just the win that turned heads.

Buckley, a Catholic, used her moment on Hollywood's biggest stage to deliver a quietly powerful

pro-life, pro-family message, dedicating her award to mothers and her infant daughter,

and quietly celebrating both family life and professional calling.

The timing was meaningful, as March 15th was Mother's Day in the UK.

Back at the Ursula & School, founded in 1787 during a period of Catholic persecution

in Ireland, teachers say they're not surprised.

Music teacher Joan Butler told a local radio station she saw this moment coming years

ago.

I remember the whole room just stopped, mouths open, watching this rehearsal, Butler recalled,

I remember turning to some of the students and going, watch her, she's going to win

an Oscar one day.

The school says Buckley's journey from its stage to global recognition reflects the values

of dedication, creativity, and faith that have defined the institution for nearly two

and a half centuries, and stands as an inspiration for young women today.

Yesterday, legendary college football coach Lou Holtz was laid to rest in a funeral mass

at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame, and those who packed the church heard

a clear message.

Football was not his greatest legacy.

Notre Dame president Holy Crossfather Robert Dowd remembered Holtz as a man of faith

whose faith guided his life, a man of love who showed that love to everyone he encountered.

Father Dowd called him a man committed to excellence, not just for himself, but for

everyone around him.

By any measure, Holtz's football career was extraordinary.

Over more than five decades, he compiled 249 victories, won a national championship during

his 11 years at Notre Dame, and became the only coach in history to lead six programs

to ball games and four programs to top 15 final rankings.

He was known as a motivator, a task master, and a perfectionist, but Holtz championed

his Catholic faith just as fiercely, both in private and in public.

He passed away on March 4 in Orlando after more than a month in hospice care.

He was 89 years old.

His wife, Beth, preceded him in death in 2020.

He is survived by four children, nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Late yesterday, March 16, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear oral arguments

on a high stakes immigration question, can the Trump administration end the program that

temporarily shields eligible Haitian nationals from deportation?

The program, known as temporary protected status, or TPS, is currently shielding more

than 350,000 Haitians who are living and working legally in the United States.

On March 11, the Trump administration asked the high court to pause a lower court ruling

that had blocked the government from terminating Haiti's TPS designation.

U.S. solicitor general, D. John Sauer, argued that the numerous legal challenges surrounding

the administration's efforts to end TPS for several nations, quote, cry out for immediate

resolution.

The Supreme Court also agreed to hear a parallel case involving TPS productions for Syrian

nationals.

Catholic bishops have opposed ending the Haitian program, calling it not realistic, given

the ongoing turmoil in Haiti.

That concern carries significant pastoral weight.

Haitians are a largely Catholic population, and church leaders have consistently called

for policies that reflect both the rule of law and basic human dignity.

As the Trump administration's immigration crackdown continues, Catholic advocates from

across the country are gathering to chart a pastoral course.

On March 12, the diocese of Phoenix hosted an all-day conference called Witness to Hope,

responding to mass deportations, bringing together experts in immigration law, Catholic

social teaching, and ministry to migrants.

The Phoenix event was the second of its kind.

Bishop Bruce Lewandowski of Providence convened the first regional gathering back in December,

and a third is already scheduled for May 6, in Detroit.

The conferences are coordinated by the Center for Migration Studies of New York and the Hope

Border Institute, which serves immigrant communities in El Paso and the surrounding

region.

Auxiliary bishop Peter Dai Buie of Phoenix, who as a child was himself, a refugee from

Vietnam, delivered a powerful homily at the conference mass.

Every person who crosses a border carries the image and likeness of God, Bishop Buie said,

And no law, no policy, no executive order can strip that dignity away.

Sue Weishar of Catholic Impact stressed that parishes are where the rubber meets the

road in living out those gospel values on the ground.

Hopefully the 14th is calling on every institution in the Catholic Church to take direct personal

responsibility for preventing abuse and to listen above all to those who have been harmed.

Taking at the Vatican on March 16th to members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection

of Miners, Pope Leo praised the Commission's work protecting children, adolescents, and

vulnerable people, calling it a demanding service, sometimes silent, often burdensome, but

one which is essential for the life of the Church.

The Pope was directing his message, safeguarding cannot be reduced to a checklist.

Prevention is never just a set of protocols or procedures, he said.

Pope Leo also elevated the Commission's annual report as a tool of accountability, describing

it as an exercise in truth and responsibility, as well as in hope and prudence.

The Pontiffs remarks underscore a consistent theme of his papacy, that a genuine culture

of care must be built from the ground up within the Church, not delegated, not bureaucratized,

but lived, rooted in listening to survivors and refusing to look away.

And that's your OSV newscast for today, I'm Maggie Murray of OSV News.

Check out the show notes for direct links to the stories in this episode.

Make sure to subscribe to this podcast, follow us on social media, and bookmark osvnews.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and in the words of an old Irish blessing, may you be half

an hour in heaven before the devil knows your dead.

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