'Listen': The Gospel according to Spielberg

Culture

From childhood, Steven Spielberg was taught that the most important spiritual act he could do is listen. His filmography upholds it.

The Latest

Catholic memorial for those lost to suicide is a place to pray, feel 'God's love, peace'

Simone Orendain, OSV News

Kansas diocese opens new seminary more than 20 years in the making

Gina Christian, OSV News

Autism and the holiness of now

Sarah Kernion

Editors' Choice

The South Dakota State Penitentiary is seen in this photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. Briley Piper, the only prisoner on South Dakota's death row, began speaking by phone with NCR's Camillo Barone in February 2026. (AP photo/Amber Hunt)

In Focus

Reporter's Notebook: What I learned reporting on death row, one 20-minute call at a time

 National Catholic Reporter's Camillo Barone shares how the story of Briley Piper has occupied a large part of both his reporting and personal life.

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Most Read Stories

Pope Francis greets Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Feb. 14, 2024. (CNS/Vatican Media)
Vatican News

#1
Pope Leo writes to 97-year-old cardinal who spent 18 years in labor camps

On Christmas Eve 1963, Ernest Simoni,, then a young priest, was arrested by the communist regime of Enver Hoxha after offering a Mass for the soul of assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

ByCourtney Mares, OSV News
Fr. John Ubel, pastor of the Church of Saint Agnes, processes into the sanctuary with altar servers at the start of one of the Catholic parish's Latin Masses in St. Paul, Minn., June 28, 2026. (RNS/AP/Giovanna Dell'Orto)

#2
After SSPX schism, some Catholics urge greater access to the older Latin Mass

Allies of the older Latin Mass community had called for expanded access in the wake of the recent schism brought on by the ordination of four bishops without papal approval by the ultra-traditionalist SSPX. 

ByAleja Hertzler-McCain, Religion News Service
A file photo shows students at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., receiving Communion during a Mass and rally for the opening of the school year. (OSV News/Tom Tracy)

#3
Florida AG's threat to Catholic schools 'clear violation' of the First Amendment, law scholar says

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to the Catholic bishops of Florida demanding that Catholic schools in the Sunshine State adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements or risk their ability to participate in the state's school voucher program.

ByKate Scanlon, OSV News

#4
Illinois bishop bars family eulogies, same-day vigils under new funeral policies

#5
Pope Leo meets rock icon Patti Smith at the Vatican

#6
Vatican liturgy chief says Pope Leo will not overturn Latin Mass restrictions

Opinion

The quiet revolution at the Vatican

NCR Voices

Synodality requires engagement with LGBTQ Catholics — and not just the 'right' ones

Guest Voices

An AI data center is being built on my grandma's garden

Guest Voices

When Liam Myers' grandma sold her house last year, she didn't know it was to an AI data center developer. Now, her grandson wrestles with the loss — and what it means to remember.

Podcast: John Dear retells the story of the raising of Lazarus

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How JD Vance and Bishop Barron reduce Catholicism to philosophy — and what they miss

Guest Voices
Letters to the Editor

Your letters: The SSPX and treatment of transgender issues

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the editor: NCR readers respond to stories about the Priestly Society of St. Pius X and transgender issues in public life. 

Vatican

Pope Leo XIV delivers a blessing in St. Peter's Basilica, on the occasion of the weekly general audience at the Vatican Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo to meet with clergy abuse survivors during upcoming trip to France

Pope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy abuse during a four-day trip to France next month that will include a visit to UNESCO headquarters, a meeting with French bishops in Lourdes and an interreligious meeting in the border city of Metz.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, Italy, which houses the Porziuncola, the small chapel closely associated with the life and early vocation of St. Francis, Aug. 6, 2026. (NCR photo/Camillo Barone)
Vatican News

Pope urges young people in Assisi gathering to reject power and choose peace

Pope Leo XIV returned to Assisi on Aug. 6 for the second time in his pontificate, addressing more than 2,000 young people gathered in the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi, calling on them to become peacemakers.

ByCamillo Barone
Pope Leo XIV speaks to members of the media aboard the papal plane April 15, 2026, en route to Yaounde, Cameroon. Leo will visit 10 cities in South America during his apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru Nov. 6-17. (OSV News/Pool/Guglielmo Mangiapane)
Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV's visit to South America in November to include cities in Peru

Chiclayo is expected to be one of the most closely watched stops since Leo served as bishop of the diocese from 2015 to 2023.

ByCourtney Mares, OSV News
Fr. John Ubel, pastor of the Church of Saint Agnes, processes into the sanctuary with altar servers at the start of one of the Catholic parish’s Latin Masses in St. Paul, Minn., June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’Orto)
Vatican News

Latin Mass debate erupts as Pope Leo returns from summer break

As prominent prelates clash over the traditional Latin Mass, Pope Leo XIV's response may reveal his deepest instincts about authority, unity and tradition.

ByClaire Giangravé, Religion News Service

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vatican News

Pope Leo writes to 97-year-old cardinal who spent 18 years in labor camps

Pope Leo meets rock icon Patti Smith at the Vatican

Vatican liturgy chief says Pope Leo will not overturn Latin Mass restrictions

EarthBeat

Catholics sees outpouring of grace after EF-3 tornado; Wisconsin storm miraculously took no lives

The tornado, with winds of 146 mph, traveled on the ground for 20 minutes, cutting a swath of 12.5 miles, over three cities and one village. Menasha, population 18,000, was hardest hit.

This April 26, 2007, file photo, shows the exterior of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., in Waltham, Massachusetts. (AP photo/Stephan Savoia, file)

Lawsuit seeks fossil fuel-free 401(k) plan on religious grounds

A scientist in New York is suing life sciences company Thermo Fisher Scientific over its refusal to provide a retirement plan option that omits investments in fossil fuels, which he holds violate his Christian beliefs.

ByBrian Roewe
Tim Hansen carries a statue of an angel retrieved from the debris as his wife, Shelly, and Nancy Fuller survey their destroyed home in Spokane, Wash., Aug. 3, 2026, after a wildfire swept through the neighborhood. (OSV News/Reuters/David Ryder)

Spokane bishop calls for prayers, outreach as wildfires ravage area

A Washington state bishop is calling for prayer as wildfires have torched entire neighborhoods, leading to thousands of evacuations and hundreds of destroyed buildings.

ByGina Christian, OSV News
A group of children drink water at Precious Blood Amani Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya. (Lourine Oluoch)

In Kenya, nuns lead in providing water, sanitation and hygiene for vulnerable children

The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood work with children from around Nairobi, rescuing them from the streets, rehabilitating them, and reintegrating them back to school and into the community. 

ByLourine Oluoch

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Catholic groups urge EPA to halt actions that devalue human life, God's creation

'A deal with the devil': Religion motivates data center opponents in Texas

Guest Voices

An AI data center is being built on my grandma's garden

Culture

Sr. Sandra Smithson, a School Sister of St. Francis (School Sisters of St. Francis)
Book Reviews

New book explores life of Sr. Sandra Smithson, pioneering Black Catholic nun in Tennessee

The new text from journalist Theresa Laurence covers a woman who battled racism and educational neglect in Nashville for more than four decades.

'Listen': The Gospel according to Spielberg

From childhood, Steven Spielberg was taught that the most important spiritual act he could do is listen. His filmography upholds it.

ByMichael Leach

4 teens take justice into vigilante hands in 'The Altar Boys'

A group of altar boys, frustrated by the indifference of the adults in their Catholic parish, decide to wire the confessional so they can right social wrongs on their own.

ByJose Solís
In 1972, a man took a hammer to Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica, breaking the Renaissance sculpture into at least 100 pieces. A team repaired the sculpture, which is now protected by bulletproof and shatterproof glass. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

Violence against the virgin: The long history of Marian art defacement

 "For centuries," writes Vanessa R. Corcoran, "attacks on female religious imagery have continued (outpacing vandalism against images of Jesus), and have typically been orchestrated by men."

ByVanessa R. Corcoran

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New book by feminist theologian takes on clericalism, racism and the work of repair

Pop culture’s 'reverent irreverence': Irony, sincerity and religion

Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' demands we consider the cost of war

"Peter's walk on water" (1879) by Theodor Eckardt (Artvee)
Columns

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: The silent presence of God

How often when encountering difficulties do we immediately question the Lord's faithfulness and trustworthiness?

LCWR assembly marks 70 years with Pope Leo XIV message and focus on synodality

More than 1,300 leaders of U.S. congregations and guests will gather Aug. 11-14 in Orlando, Florida, as the organization celebrates seven decades. 

ByDan Stockman

German nun's legacy continues transforming the lives of disabled Indonesians

Founded six decades ago, the St. Damian Rehabilitation Center for Leprosy and Disability has empowered thousands of disabled Indonesians to improve their lives.

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Sr. Shila Teresa Gomes of Bangladesh, second from left, and another member of the Catechist Sisters of the Immaculate Conception celebrate with Sisters of St. Francis de Sales in Florence, Italy. (Courtesy of Shila Teresa Gomes)

Missionary roles reverse as Bangladeshi nun cares for elderly Catholic sisters in Italy

As many religious congregations in Europe face declining vocations and aging membership, sisters from countries such as Bangladesh are increasingly helping care for elderly religious women who dedicated their lives to mission work around the world.

BySumon Corraya

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