OSV News’ Charlie Camosy recently spoke with Melissa Moschella, professor of the practice in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life and author of “Ethics, Politics, and Natural Law: Principles for Human Flourishing,” about the Catholic tradition surrounding this concept and its special importance and relevance in society today.

The parishioners of St. Ignatius in Hickory are both in their propaedeutic year – their first year of seminary formation – with Mark, 23, stationed at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore and Ben, 28, assigned to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg.

With thousands of infirmed people and those who care for them gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair and wearing a nasal cannula, made an unexpected appearance to greet the crowd.

A saint, the mother of a slain journalist, a young girl with autism and a tiny mouse are all among the stories celebrated by an annual award that lifts up “lights in the darkness.”

The Ukrainian Catholic University Foundation announced that an endowed scholarship fund honoring Daryna Bazylevych and her family had collected $163,441 to date.