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OSV Newscast
Massachusetts Abortion Repeal Gets Nearly 100K Signatures, USCCB Pregnancy Help Week, Pope Speaks to Immigration Summit, Benedictine Nuns Try to Save Polish Convent and Texas Archdiocese Hosts Mental Health Ministry Training
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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for Oct. 29, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.
Read the stories in this episode:
- Pope Leo XIV sent a message to CLINIC’s interfaith immigration summit, urging participants to overcome indifference that reduces migrants to statistics.
- Massachusetts pro-life advocates backed by the state’s bishops have gathered nearly 100,000 signatures to put a repeal of the state’s new late-term abortion law on the 2028 ballot.
- Bishop Daniel Thomas thanked pregnancy help workers ahead of Pregnancy Help Appreciation Week, calling their service “heroic.”
- Benedictine nuns at Poland’s oldest Benedictine convent are racing to raise $1 million by December 31st to finish an 800-year-old monastery preservation project and avoid repaying EU funds.
- More than 130 parish leaders in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston completed mental health and disability ministry training, reflecting strong demand for formation.
Hello, I'm Maggie Murray of OSV News, and this is your OSV Newscast for Thursday, October 29th, 2026. Let's catch you up on the Catholic News of the Day. Here we go. Pope Leo XIV sent a special message of support today to an interfaith immigration policy summit hosted by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, known as Clinic. The two-day summit, running October 29th and 30th, brings together faith leaders, legal practitioners, advocates, and scholars from Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish traditions to find common ground in serving immigrant communities. Too often, these most vulnerable members of society are caught in situations which strip them of their human rights, the Pope said, an injustice that cries out to heaven. He expressed hope that the summit will encourage participants to stir the hearts and minds of their fellow citizens to overcome that indifference and detachment which reduces the human person to a statistic. Clinic's executive director, Anna Gallagher, called the message a meaningful charge for the beginning of an interfaith gathering. The stakes are high. A joint report from the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. Bishops Migration and Refugee Services, and others estimated that more than 10 million Christians living in the U.S. would be vulnerable to deportation under Trump administration policies implemented in 2025, and 61% of them were Catholic. As Respect Life Month comes to a close, Massachusetts pro-life advocates are pushing back on a new state law expanding abortion, and they've collected nearly 100,000 voter signatures to put the issue on the 2028 ballot. The initiative, called Repeal 188, was launched in September by the Compassionate Care Coalition. It seeks to overturn the law Governor Mora Healy, a Catholic, signed in August, which removed prior guardrails against late-term abortion, requiring only the professional judgment of the physician. Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston told OSV News that many residents, even if they might see themselves as pro-choice to one degree or another, believe the bill was too extreme and unjust. Bishops William Byrne of Springfield, Edward DeCuna of Fall River, and Robert McManus of Worcester are also backing the effort. In an October 29th message to the faithful, the four bishops said, Every child is a gift and every person deserves a chance to live. Pregnancy help organizations, maternity homes, medical and resource help centers, and adoption agencies provide heroic services every day to anyone in need, Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo said in an October 27th statement. The annual observance was created by Heartbeat International, an interdenominational Christian association founded in 1971 to support faith-based pregnancy resource centers, medical clinics, maternity homes, and adoption agencies. According to the USCCB, about 2,750 pregnancy help centers across the country offer life-affirming support to women in need. Bishop Thomas also highlighted Walking with Moms in Need, a parish-based initiative launched by the bishops in 2020 to serve vulnerable, pregnant, and parenting women. At least one-third of the U.S. diocese have parishes taking part. A community of Benedictine nuns in southern Poland is racing against the clock to save their 800-year-old monastery. The Sisters of St. Adalbert Abbey in Staniatski, Poland's oldest Benedictine convent, have launched an urgent appeal to raise about $1 million by December 31st to complete the Benedictine Heritage Cloisters preservation project. The initiative will create a museum, library, and exhibition spaces to protect centuries of religious and cultural treasures, including early Polish Christmas carols and rare manuscripts. Launched in 2018, the project was first expected to cost $2.8 million, with nearly $1.8 million covered by the European Union. But construction challenges, pandemic delays, and soaring costs after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine pushed the price to nearly $7.1 million. An October inspection revealed a firm December 31st deadline, with no extension possible. Failing to finish could require repaying EU funding. Simply tightening our belts is not enough, Mother Stefania Polkovska said. It truly is a crisis. More than 130 clergy, catechists, and lay leaders recently attended a two-day training hosted by the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, covering topics from suicide and trauma to disability inclusion and family stress. Organizers said representatives from roughly three-quarters of the Archdiocese parishes took part. Hosting NCPD is a big step toward welcoming all persons with disabilities into the life of the church, said Melissa Alvarez, Associate Director of Faith Formation for Persons with Disabilities. The training grew out of the Archdiocese's Hope and Healing Initiative, led by Auxiliary Bishop Italo Delorro, which began with mental health literacy for clergy and revealed a strong appetite for more. Parish leaders are hungry for learning more, Alvarez said. NCPD Executive Director Charlene Cotra said interest reflects what parishes nationwide are experiencing. Pope Leo XIV's October prayer intention was dedicated to mental health ministries. 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. Be 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.
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