February 8, 2026 // World News

News Briefs: February 8, 2026

OSV NEWS

A flood victim stands in floodwater outside her home in Maputo, Mozambique, Jan. 18, 2026, after weeks of heavy rainfall. As deadly floods hit Southern African, Pope Leo XIV prayed for the affected, with Catholic bishops in the region urging support for thousands struck by the climate change-related disaster. (OSV News photo/Amilton Neves, Reuters)

Pope: Scripture Is a Living Reality that Develops, Grows in Tradition

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The word of God is not “fossilized” but rather develops and grows in tradition, Pope Leo XIV said on Wednesday, January 29, during his weekly general audience. The Church’s “deposit of faith,” which contains “the entirety of our faith – doctrine, worship, morality, etc. – is not static but dynamic for it develops and is more profoundly understood by the Church over the centuries under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,” he said. “Entrusted to the Church, who preserves and interprets it in Jesus’ name, this deposit helps us to navigate the complexities of life to reach our eternal home in heaven,” he said. Speaking to visitors gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall for the general audience, the pope continued his series of talks dedicated to the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum. Jesus sent “the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles to remember, apply and proclaim everything he taught,” he said. That means “sacred Scripture, the inspired word of God, and sacred tradition, the living memory of the Church, are intimately bound together and form the one deposit of faith. … The word of God, then, is not fossilized, but rather it is a living and organic reality that develops and grows in tradition.”

Pope Adds Feast of St. John Henry Newman to Universal Calendar

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV has added the feast day of St. John Henry Newman, who is “a radiant light for the Church on pilgrimage through history,” to the General Roman Calendar so that “his optional memorial be celebrated by all on October 9.” Cardinal Arthur Roche and Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, respectively prefect and secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, announced the pope’s decision in a decree published by the Vatican on Tuesday, February 3. Cardinal Roche said the inclusion of St. Newman in the General Roman Calendar “is intended to present his figure as an outstanding example of the constant search for the truth that enlightens and saves” and to help the faithful contemplate him “as a man led by the ‘kindly light’ of God’s grace to find peace within the Catholic Church.” Bishops’ conferences around the world will need to translate from Latin the prayers issued by the dicastery for Mass on his feast day as well as those used in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Roman Martyrology, and have the translations confirmed by the dicastery. Previously, the feast day of St. Newman was inscribed only in the proper calendar of the Congregation of the Oratory – the religious congregation to which he belonged – and the proper calendar of England and Wales. Now his memorial, celebrated on the date of his conversion to Catholicism in 1845, is included in the calendar of the universal Church.

Pope Leo Laments Rising U.S.-Cuba Tensions

VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV has called for “a sincere and effective dialogue” as tensions between the United States and Cuba mount. The pope shared his concerns in remarks delivered after he led the Angelus prayer on Sunday, February 1 in St. Peter’s Square. “I have received the greatly troubling news regarding an increase in tensions between Cuba and the United States of America, two neighboring countries,” he said. President Donald Trump, citing Cuba as a threat to the U.S., has moved to cut off fuel supplies to the island, which has sustained what the Pan-American Health Organization and World Health Organization have described as a long-running “socio-economic crisis exacerbated by converging disasters,” including in its energy and public health sectors. Pope Leo echoed a January 31 message issued by Cuba’s bishops “inviting all responsible parties to promote a sincere and effective dialogue, in order to avoid violence and every action that could increase the suffering of the dear Cuban people.”

‘Radical’ Abortion Amendment Passes Virginia General Assembly

RICHMOND, Virginia (OSV News) – The Virginia General Assembly has sent a sweeping amendment enshrining a “fundamental right” to abortion in the Constitution of Virginia to a statewide referendum on the November ballot. If the voters approve the amendment, it will establish virtually unlimited abortion at any stage of pregnancy as a “fundamental right” in Virginia’s constitution. The amendment passed the General Assembly on January 16 despite the best efforts of the bishops and more than 600 pro-life advocates who met with legislators a day earlier, on Virginia Pro-Life Day. Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout joined Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge in calling the amendment “radical,” “extreme,” and “shocking to the conscience” in a statement.

Pope Appeals for End to Antisemitism, Prejudice, Genocide

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV called for an end to all antisemitism, prejudice, oppression and persecution worldwide. “I renew my appeal to the community of nations always to remain vigilant so that the horror of genocide never again befall any people and that a society based on mutual respect and the common good be built,” he said on Wednesday, January 28. The pope made his remarks during his greeting to Italian-speaking visitors after leading his general audience talk in the Paul VI Audience Hall. The pope recalled the previous day’s commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is marked January 27 each year. “On this annual occasion of painful remembrance, I ask Almighty God for the gift of a world without any more antisemitism, prejudice, oppression or persecution of any human being,” Pope Leo said. The pope also commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day with a post on X January 27, recalling “that the Church remains faithful to the unwavering position of the Declaration #NostraAetate against every form of antisemitism. The Church rejects any discrimination or harassment based on ethnicity, language, nationality or religion.”

Spanish Bishops Back Plan on Migration as Church in Italy Mourns 380 Lost at Sea

MADRID (OSV News) – Catholic leaders in Spain are welcoming a new government plan to regularize the legal status of around 500,000 migrants in the country without authorization, calling it a long-overdue act of social justice. Announced on Tuesday, January 27, the measure would grant one-year residency permits to migrants who have lived in Spain for at least five months and have no criminal record, including some asylum seekers. The Spanish bishops’ conference, Caritas, and religious orders praised the move as a step toward dignity, inclusion, and the common good. Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid said it recognizes migrants’ human dignity while also highlighting the need for broader European cooperation on migration. The announcement came amid grim news from Italy, where Church leaders mourned hundreds of migrants feared dead in recent Mediterranean shipwrecks. Italian bishops warned of growing indifference to deaths at sea, criticizing restrictive policies and limited rescue efforts. Archbishop Gian Carlo Perego of Ferrara, Italy, called for a joint sea rescue operation by EU member states and lamented the increasing number of deaths at sea “amid Europe’s disinterest.”