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Hello, I'm Maggie Murray of OSV News, and this is your OSV Newscast for Friday, August 14th, 2026. Let's catch you up on the Catholic News of the Day. Here we go. Florida's Catholic bishops are making an urgent appeal to Governor Ron DeSantis, asking him to halt next week's scheduled execution and commute a death sentence to life without parole. William Sylvia, age 61, was convicted in 2008 of first-degree murder for killing his estranged wife, Patricia, in 2006, and is set to be executed August 18th, Florida's 13th execution this year, if carried out. In a letter to the Florida governor Ron DeSantis, Michael Sheedy, Executive Director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, acknowledged the seriousness of Sylvia's crime while appealing for mercy, citing St. John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae, and the Church's teaching that every human life given by God is sacred. Sheedy stressed that even a murderer does not lose his personal dignity. In the days leading up to the execution, the Bishop's Conference said Catholic faithful will gather at locations across Florida to pray, for the soul of Patricia Sylvia, for Mr. Sylvia as he faces execution, and for Governor DeSantis as he weighs the request for clemency. Iowa's four Catholic dioceses are joining forces to help Catholic families take advantage of a new federal education tax credit. The diocese have formed the Iowa Catholic Scholarship Granting Organization, which will work alongside the state's existing tuition organizations rather than replace them, according to Angela Olson of Regina Catholic Schools in Iowa City. The new federal program, created under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act signed by President Trump in July 2025, is optional for states, and Iowa has opted in, with the program set to launch January 1st, 2027. Starting next year, donors can receive a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for contributions to scholarship granting organizations, which fund K-12 scholarships for students attending schools of choice. Unlike a deduction, a credit reduces the federal taxes owed dollar for dollar, explained Trish Wilger of the Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education. As of this week, 31 states had opted into the program or signaled plans to do so. An Australian court has convicted a former Catholic bishop of sexually abusing three young Aboriginal men, a crime church leaders are calling a profound betrayal of the gospel. A district court in Broome found Bishop Christopher Saunders guilty yesterday of 13 counts of abuse, including one count of sexual penetration and 12 counts of indecent assault, while acquitting him on six other charges. Archbishop Timothy Costello, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, called the crimes a betrayal of everything the gospel and the Catholic Church stand for, and praised the survivor's courage, confirming the Vatican will now resume its canonical investigation, previously paused during civil proceedings. Bishop Tim Norton, who was appointed to lead the Diocese of Broome by Pope Francis in 2024, apologized to victims for the delayed reckoning and pledged to rebuild trust. This will be a time of grieving, listening, and walking together on a synodal journey, he said. Bishop Saunders resigned in 2021 amid the allegations. His canonical status now rests with Rome. Ahead of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV is issuing a direct challenge to the global community. Stop treating migration as a numbers game and start prioritizing the dignity of the world's most vulnerable migrant children. In his message released by the Vatican this morning, the Pope warned that the suffering of displaced youths doesn't end the moment they leave home, highlighting severe risks along transit routes including human trafficking, armed conflict recruitment, and sexual violence. Pope Leo called on countries of origin to address the root causes forcing families to flee, while urging destination nations to offer genuine protection and welcome. He emphasized that the global church must move welcoming from an abstract ideal into regular pastoral practice, reminding the faithful that protecting vulnerable children means safeguarding the divine image present within every one of them. Collectors take note, the Vatican has released its first Euro coin set bearing the face of Pope Leo XIV, marking both the start of his pontificate and the Jubilee year of St. Francis of Assisi. The set includes coins featuring the Pope's portrait and coat of arms, along with a commemorative 5-Euro coin depicting Saint Francis renouncing his worldly possessions, marking the 800th anniversary of the saint's death. It's the first time a Pope's image has appeared on Vatican coins since 2017, when Pope Francis asked that his own portrait be removed. The new set carries a face value of €3.88, but is being sold to collectors for 39 euros, or about 45 dollars. Sister Raffaella Petrini, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, said the Vatican Mint serves as more than a place of production. It's a repository of historical and economic memory that imprints coins with a message of universal significance. Italian artist Daniela Longo designed the new coins. 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. Have a great weekend and God bless. This has been an OSV News production. To learn more, visit osvnews.com.