St. Wolfgang of Ratisbon was born around the year 934, in southwestern Germany. As a member of the nobility, he received private tutoring, and went on to study at the Monastery of Reichenau and Wurtzburg. 

In 956, his school friend Henry was sent to lead the Archdiocese of Trier. Wolfgang, tired of monastic life, followed Henry, and took up a teaching position in the school at the cathedral. After Archbishop Henry died in 964, Wolfgang joined the Order of St. Benedict, and went to live in a monastery at Augsburg. Under his direction, the school flourished, and he was ordained in 968. 

A few years later, Wolfgang was sent to evangelize the Magyars. He was quickly chosen to be the bishop of Ratisbon, but even as bishop, Wolfgang lived as a monk, wearing his Benedictine habit and shunning worldly pleasures. He spent a great deal of time praying in solitude. 

In his reforms, Wolfgang focused on monasticism and reviving religious life, on giving to the poor, and educating the children of the Duke, including the boy who would go on to become Holy Roman Emperor St. Henry II. 

Although he enacted many reforms, Wolfgang struggled with the sheer size of his diocese, and eventually handed some of his parishes to the bishop of nearby Prague. He ran into political conflicts as well, even leaving his diocese to live in a hermitage for a short while.

In 994, Wolfgang was in Pupping, Austria, when he fell ill and died. He was canonized less than 100 years later, after many miracles and healings were reported at his tomb. He is a patron saint of stomach troubles, stroke and paralysis victims, and carpenters.

JD seeks some advice.

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NEW YORK (OSV News) – In the winter of 2022, businesswoman Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of large-scale fraud in a case that drew nationwide attention. The following spring, Holmes reported to a Texas prison to begin serving her 11-year sentence.

A little more than a month before she did so — with Holmes’ cooperation and that of her live-in fiance, Billy Evans — filmmakers Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim began to profile the couple on camera. Fielder initiated a series of intense interviews with the duo while the camera and audio crew recorded their daily lives.

The result is the intriguing documentary “You Can See Everything” (A24).

Subtle and probing, the film is by its nature not one that kids could understand. But the presence of off-color expressions and references, along with a rather gratuitous scene of Evans in the shower, render the production unsuitable for teens as well. In fact, even some grown-ups may not find the movie to their taste.

Both partners are insistent that Holmes is innocent. By patient questioning, Fielder tries to determine whether they are sincere, delusional or merely carrying on the scam. Watching Holmes’ doll-like face and observing her slightly eerie childlike manner, it’s hard to tell, though it seems certain that she lives — to some extent at least — in a world of her own.

Fielder increasingly becomes a participant in the unfolding events rather than a detached observer. He also draws actress Amanda Seyfried into the project.

Together with Fielder, Seyfried — who played Holmes in the 2022 Hulu miniseries “The Dropout” — ponders Holmes and Evans’ often puzzling behavior as well as the intricacies of their unusual psychological and emotional relationship. The upshot is a fascinating study of the complexities of human nature.

The film contains brief frontal and partial male nudity, cohabitation, sexually themed discussions, at least one use of profanity, a couple of milder oaths, pervasive rough language and numerous crude expressions. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on X @JohnMulderig1.

The post You Can See Everything first appeared on OSV News.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — An Oct. 29-30 interfaith immigration policy summit hosted by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, also known as CLINIC, brought together faith leaders, legal practitioners, advocates and scholars from Catholic, Protestant and Jewish faith traditions to find areas of commonality in their work serving immigrant communities.

Anna Gallagher, executive director of CLINIC, said in remarks at the summit, “We have much to learn from one another.” 

“Across the traditions represented here, we encounter teachings about hospitality, justice, compassion, refuge, and responsibility,” she said.

The summit came during what participants described as a challenging time for their cause. A joint report from the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops‘ Migration and Refugee Services, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and World Relief 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% were Catholic. 

It also found more than 1 in 6 Catholics are either vulnerable to deportation themselves or could see a family member deported, barring law or policy changes.

‘Migration is not a footnote in the biblical narrative’

In reference to their interfaith dialogue, the Rev. Enid Almanzar, board chair at the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, said in remarks at the summit, “Migration is not a footnote in the biblical narrative.”

“Even Jesus began his earthly life as a child whose family had to flee political violence and seek refuge in Egypt,” she said.

Acknowledging broader doctrinal differences between the organizations, Rev. Almanzar said, “we may not agree on some of the larger theological questions, but we don’t have to agree on every doctrine to recognize the moral urgency of protecting the vulnerable.” 

“Because ultimately, compassion without action becomes sentimentality and conviction without courage becomes rhetoric, and so our calling is to move beyond both to become communities where dignity is defended, where families are accompanied, and where love is made visible,” she said.

The summit also came shortly after a divided panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia allowed a lawsuit against the federal government from a coalition of more than two dozen religious organizations to proceed. The group is challenging a Trump administration policy that rescinded long-standing restrictions on arrests at sensitive locations, also including schools and hospitals, with exceptions for public safety or national security threats. Multiple panelists at the summit shared concerns about that policy change.

St. Louis Archdiocese’s lawsuit over ICE enforcement at ‘sensitive locations’

It also came soon after the Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a separate lawsuit against the federal government over a policy it said prohibits priests from distributing holy Communion to and hearing confessions of Catholics detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Pope Leo XIV sent a special message of support to the summit, thanking CLINIC for its work, “together with that of the many people, families, civic bodies and church communities who strive to uphold the dignity of migrants and refugees.” 

“Too often, these most vulnerable members of society are caught in situations which strip them of their human rights — an injustice that cries out to heaven,” he said. “It is my hope, therefore, that this summit will encourage the 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.” 

Pope Leo said he would pray the meeting “will help find new ways to awaken consciences to our shared moral duty for these brothers and sisters of ours, who, as Sacred Scripture and the saints untiringly remind us, are Christ visiting us in disguise.”

Gallagher said Pope Leo’s message was “a meaningful charge for the beginning of an interfaith gathering.” 

Helping ‘our communities see more clearly, respond more faithfully’

“We are here to learn from one another, to strengthen our work, and to consider how we can help our communities see more clearly and respond more faithfully,” she said.

Rev. Almanzar argued that religious communities are well suited to advocate for humane immigration policies.

“Maybe the most prophetic thing we can do in this environment is refuse that false binary choice between security and humanity,” she said. “A nation should be able to uphold its laws without surrendering its conscience, and faith communities have a responsibility to remind our leaders and ourselves of that truth.”

“As faith communities,” she added, “I think we can be leaders in reframing the conversation and casting a vision about a future where people flourish, where people are welcome, where people are loved, and there’s not that false binary choice.”

Gallagher added, “Migration brings us into contact with questions that are central to religious life. Where do we belong? What do we owe one another? How do we respond to suffering? What does it mean to welcome someone whose language, history, or circumstances differ from our own?”

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.

The post Interfaith migration policy summit seeks common ground on welcoming the stranger first appeared on OSV News.