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Hello, I'm Maggie Murray of OSV News, and this is your OSV Newscast for Tuesday, August 11th, 2026. Let's catch you up on the Catholic News of the Day. Here we go. A powerful earthquake struck Colombia yesterday, and Pope Leo XIV is offering prayers and condolences as the nation begins to grapple with the devastation. The 7.4 magnitude quake, centered in the northwestern region of Choco, killed at least 132 people, injured over 570, and collapsed dozens of buildings, the strongest tremor to hit the country in over a decade. The Colombian Bishops Conference called on citizens to respond as one family through prayer, generosity, and support for rescue workers. In Manizales, where the historic Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary suffered severe structural damage, Archbishop Jose Miguel Gomez urged the faithful to lean on their faith amid the suffering. Diocese across the country and Caritas, Colombia have activated emergency relief networks. In a telegram released today, Pope Leo offered prayers for the eternal rest of the deceased and for the speedy recovery of those affected, expressing gratitude to rescue workers and asking God to pour out spiritual strength and Christian hope on the Colombian people. The Catholic bishops of Massachusetts are sharply condemning a new state law that removes legal restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy, calling it a radical measure which is gravely immoral. Governor Mora Healy, a Catholic, signed the bill into law today after it passed the state house on July 22nd and the Senate on July 31st. The new law allows physicians to perform abortions after 24 weeks if, in their professional judgment, it is medically necessary, a significant shift from the prior standard, which permitted such abortions only to preserve the patient's life or health, or in cases of severe fetal abnormalities. In their July 29th statement, the bishops were direct about their obligation to respond. As Catholic bishops, we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to natural death, they said, reaffirming the Church's consistent opposition to expanding legal access to late-term abortion. Recent security disclosures from major AI developers, Anthropic and OpenAI, are underscoring a message Catholic thinkers have been emphasizing for months. Technology alone can't be trusted to police itself. Speaking with OSV News, Matthew Harvey Sanders, CEO of Longbeard, the technology firm behind the Catholic answer engine, Magisterium AI, said the church's essential contribution isn't technical control but moral clarity. It is the refusal to let responsibility be transferred onto the tool, he said. Charles Camossi, associate professor of moral theology at the Catholic University of America, warned of a kind of prisoner's dilemma in which AI companies worldwide find themselves locked in relentless competition that can crowd out careful ethical reflection. Both experts stressed the urgent need to bring a distinctly Catholic moral perspective to bear on a technology evolving faster than society's ability to regulate it. Echoing themes Pope Leo XIV has raised repeatedly in his own teaching on artificial intelligence. Just one day after Todd Blanche was confirmed and sworn in as Attorney General, pro-life organizations are pressing him to make good on a promise. Advancing American Freedom, the think tank founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, led 35 organizations in sending a letter to Blanche on August 7th, urging him to follow through on his commitment to review a Biden-era Justice Department opinion permitting the mail shipment of Miffin Prestone under the 1873 Comstock Act. That law, still on the books but rarely enforced in recent decades, bans mailing lewd materials, including abortive fashions, though a 2022 DOJ memo concluded it doesn't prohibit mailing certain drugs when the sender lacks intent that they'll be used unlawfully. The ProLife Coalition pointed to Blanche's own confirmation hearing testimony, in which he said he would review the finding and urged him to act on that promise promptly now that he holds the office. Pope Leo XIV's message for the 2027 World Day of Peace will confront one of the most urgent moral questions of our time: the growing role of artificial intelligence in warfare. The Vatican announced today that the theme will be disarming technology, serving peace, politics and preventative responsibility, focusing on the moral responsibility of political leaders. According to the Vatican's Dicaster for promoting integral human development, the Pope wishes to draw attention to the moral responsibility of those called to serve in the public sphere, urging all people to uphold human dignity by disarming technology. The message will build on Pope Leo's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, specifically warning against entrusting military decisions to artificial intelligence. The announcement follows a July 16th gathering in Rome, where Nobel laureates, inspired by the Pope's encyclical, signed a declaration calling for a global treaty banning AI from nuclear launch systems. The January 1st observance will mark the 60th World Day for Peace, a tradition established by Pope Paul VI. 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 God bless. This has been an OSV News production. To learn more, visit osvnews.com.