A banner reads "Imagine women priests in the Catholic Church by the year 2000" at the first World Day of Prayer for the Ordination of Women Priests, held March 25, 1994, in Dublin. (Courtesy of Soline Humbert)

Soline Humbert felt called to ordination. This Irish priest paid a price for supporting her.

News

Soline Humbert's memoir recounts the story of Fr. Eamonn McCarthy, who was ordained in 1967 and says it is time for the Catholic Church to ordain women as priests and deacons.

The Latest

The Resurrection invites us to notice how God renews our lives

The Life Panelists

Indonesian nuns help migrant families emerge from poverty

Guest Voices

Podcast: 'War is not itself until it is total war,' Daniel Berrigan wrote

John Dear

Editors' Choice

Scott Peyton and his wife Letitia are pictured in July 2020. Peyton is a Catholic deacon who in May 2024 appealed his excommunication after leaving the church in the aftermath of his son's abuse case. (Courtesy of Scott Peyton)

In Focus

Louisiana deacon awaits Vatican decision on his excommunication

In 2024 a Catholic deacon appealed his excommunication after leaving the church in the aftermath of his son's abuse case. He has spent about two years waiting for a ruling from Rome.

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Most Read Stories

Franciscan Sr. Consuelo Peset Laudeña shows one of the Spanish Giant rabbits the cloistered community breeds at the Convent of St. Anthony of Padua in Central Spain. The rabbits are at risk of extinction. (Lissette Lemus)

#1
At a Spanish convent, nuns fight to preserve rare giant rabbit species

"We have to protect creation," Sr. Consuelo Peset Laudeña said. "We are Franciscans. St. Francis is the patron saint of veterinarians, and that is the source of the love we feel for the Spanish giant rabbit."

By
A composite image features the book "He Leadeth Me" by Jesuit Fr. Walter Ciszek and a photo of Ciszek. The Polish American priest ministered for years in Soviet captivity. (OSV News photo/Megan Marley/A.D. Times)

#2
Vatican ends canonization cause for Jesuit Fr. Walter Ciszek

The decision about the Polish American priest who ministered for years in Soviet captivity "does not diminish the enduring spiritual value of his life, witness, and legacy," the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, said. 

ByGina Christian, OSV News
Scott Peyton and his wife Letitia are pictured in July 2020. Peyton is a Catholic deacon who in May 2024 appealed his excommunication after leaving the church in the aftermath of his son's abuse case. (Courtesy of Scott Peyton)

#3
Louisiana deacon awaits Vatican decision on his excommunication

In 2024 a Catholic deacon appealed his excommunication after leaving the church in the aftermath of his son's abuse case. He has spent about two years waiting for a ruling from Rome.

ByCamillo Barone

#4
Justice Dept. adopts firing squads same day Pope Leo backs death penalty abolitionists

#5
Pope Leo: 'I cannot be in favor of war,' talks migration, same-sex blessings, in press conference

#6
Pope Leo named one of Time magazine's '100 Most Influential People of 2026'

Opinion

MAGA split isn't Catholic vs. Protestant: It's a struggle for the church's soul

Guest Voices

Podcast: 'War is not itself until it is total war,' Daniel Berrigan wrote

Guest Voices
A Black person sows seeds in a field (Unsplash/Alek Newton)

Podcast: Black feminist professor Melanie Harris speaks of seeding peace

Guest Voices

On this week's episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," John Dear hosts Melanie Harris, professor of Black feminist and womanist theologies at Wake Forest University.

We need a better way to talk about Pope Leo

Guest Voices

Trump's attack on NATO is the worst self-inflicted defeat of his tenure

NCR Voices
Michael J. O'Loughlin is pictured on the rooftop of the Jesuit Curia, with St. Peter's Basilica in the background, at the Vatican in September 2025. "Capturing the full range of experiences and individuals that make up the church is my goal as editor of NCR," writes O'Loughlin. (Courtesy of Michael J. O'Loughlin)

Truth, mission and a vision toward the future of NCR

NCR Voices

Executive editor Michael J. O'Loughlin writes that a deep focus on news and analysis, with an emphasis on the ideals espoused during Vatican II, will guide his editorial vision for NCR.

Vatican

Sarah Mullally, left, on March 25, 2026, and Pope Leo XIV on April 13, 2026 (RNS/AP)

Canterbury archbishop to visit pope, a milestone for churches split on women clergy

The first female archbishop of Canterbury will stand shoulder to shoulder and kneel in prayer with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, which still maintains a male-only priesthood.

Protesters opposed to the death penalty are pictured in a file photo demonstrating outside a Georgia state prison for men in Jackson. (OSV News/Reuters/Tami Chappell)

Justice Dept. adopts firing squads same day Pope Leo backs death penalty abolitionists

Leo expressed his support for Pope Francis' 2018 decision to change authoritative church teaching to say that the death penalty is "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." 

ByJustin McLellan
Pope Leo XIV answers questions from journalists during a news conference aboard the plane flying back to Rome after leaving Equatorial Guinea, April 23, 2026. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

Asked about same-sex blessings, Leo says other issues will take priority

"I think that the topic can cause more disunity than unity, and that we should look for ways to build our unity on Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ teaches," Pope Leo XIV told journalists on the flight back to Rome from Equatorial Guinea.

ByJustin McLellan
Pope Leo XIV speaks to journalists aboard a flight returning to Rome April 23, 2026, at the conclusion of his 11-day apostolic journey to Africa. (OSV News/Andrew Medichini, pool via Reuters)
Vatican News

Pope Leo: 'I cannot be in favor of war,' talks migration, same-sex blessings, in press conference

"As a pastor, I cannot be in favor of war," Pope Leo XIV said about the war in Iran during his airborne press conference upon his return trip to Rome.

ByJustin McLellan

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Pope tells inmates 'you are not alone' during Equatorial Guinea prison visit at end of Africa tour

Pope Leo's trip targets major obstacle to Catholicism's spread in Africa: Sorcery

Mass at Basilica of St. Mary Major marks first anniversary of Pope Francis' death

EarthBeat

Members of Apache Stronghold protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington Sept. 11, 2024. An Indigenous coalition filed an updated lawsuit in federal district court on April 22, 2026, their latest attempt to stop a land transfer including their sacred site at Oak Flat, Ariz., from destruction by a copper mining giant.

Indigenous coalition continues challenge to mining project on religious liberty grounds

An Indigenous coalition filed an updated lawsuit in federal district court in Phoenix on April 22, their latest attempt to block a land transfer including their sacred site at Oak Flat, Arizona, and protect the site from destruction by a copper mining giant.

Franciscan Sr. Consuelo Peset Laudeña shows one of the Spanish Giant rabbits the cloistered community breeds at the Convent of St. Anthony of Padua in Central Spain. The rabbits are at risk of extinction. (Lissette Lemus)

At a Spanish convent, nuns fight to preserve rare giant rabbit species

"We have to protect creation," Sr. Consuelo Peset Laudeña said. "We are Franciscans. St. Francis is the patron saint of veterinarians, and that is the source of the love we feel for the Spanish giant rabbit."

By
Stefani Danes stands on the Rachel Carson EcoVillage's construction site. The building with a high tower in the background is the Sisters of Divine Providence's 100-year-old convent, now part of La Roche University. (Jennifer Szweda Jordan)

EcoVillage sustainable housing finds a place to build with Pittsburgh sisters

The Rachel Carson Ecovillage needed land, and the Sisters of Divine Providence near Pittsburgh were trying to sell 8 acres. As the sustainable housing project got underway, the two groups became partners in mission.

ByJennifer Szweda Jordan
Guwahati, Assam, India (Unsplash/Bhargav Keot)
Columns

Nature teaches me to celebrate Earth Day as my birthday

Mother Earth is creative, and just as she evolves, every human body and spirit also requires growth — this is part of the very nature of nature.

By

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

New ecological program trains US diocesan leaders to build Laudato Si' momentum

Pope Leo donates $100K to CRS clean water project in El Salvador

As drought reshapes pastoral life, Maasai communities in Kenya find new resilience

Culture

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits from the pine straw on the 18th hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia. (AP photo/Gerald Herbert)

I went to Augusta to watch the Masters. I came home with a spiritual experience.

At the Masters, writer Stephen Copeland experienced the contemplative nature of golf.

Longtime NCR contributor Jason Berry is pictured with Mississippi politician Charles Evers in 1971. "Conversations with Jason Berry," published by University Press of Mississippi as part of their Literary Conversations series, compiles 23 interviews in which Berry reflects on the forces that have shaped his work. (Courtesy of Jason Berry)

Jason Berry reflects on journalism career in new book of interviews

Jason Berry's goal in writing books about the Catholic clergy abuse scandal was to create "three-dimensional profiles, and a narrative line on people's lives in a clash with injustice and religious power."

ByJason Berry
Adi Madden Cabrera, left, and McKenna Tuckett play Catholic school outcasts who start a punk band in "Edie Arnold is a Loser." (Katrina Wan PR)

Punk rock meets Catholicism in 'Edie Arnold Is a Loser'

Visually inventive and pulsating with youthful, vivacious energy, the film "Edie Arnold Is a Loser" might just be the first Catholic coming-of-age punk rock story.

ByZachary Lee
A blue laundry basket filled with clothes (Unsplash/Annie Spratt)
Book Reviews

New book offers fresh perspective on work through a Catholic social teaching lens

NCR Book Club: Kate Ward's Making a Life expands commonly held understandings of work and reevaluates worker justice, looking at the whole person, not merely person-as-employee.

ByKen Homan

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Book Reviews

Liz Bucar explores why the wellness industry has failed spiritual seekers

The Black Catholic woman whose defiance on a bus predated Rosa Parks' action

Just how faithful is Fox's 'The Faithful: Women of the Bible'?

Orange marigolds (Unsplash/Daniel Fikri)

The Resurrection invites us to notice how God renews our lives

The Life - Our sister panelists reflect, in light of the Resurrection, on the question: Can you describe a moment of spiritual, personal or communal renewal that reminded you of God's presence in your life?

The third-century Good Shepherd fresco is seen in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome. (Newscom/ABACA/Vandeville Eric)
Columns

Fourth Sunday of Easter: To smell of the sheep

Theologians' Corner - It is unsurprising that Jesus chose the shepherd as an image of his care for his people. Those who heard it would know how important the shepherd is for the well-being of the entire community.

ByJuliet Mousseau
A view of Earth, partially hidden by the moon, is photographed through the Orion spacecraft window on April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew's flyby of the moon. (OSV News/NASA handout via Reuters)
Columns

Easter calls us to practice resurrection in a fractured world

Horizons - How do we go forward from the high of Easter Sunday to where we are right now? I believe the answer lies in courageously speaking (and living) the mission of the Gospel.

By
Sr. Francis Dominici Piscatella, right, a Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville, N.Y., who is recognized as the world's oldest nun, chats with Sr. Joanne Walters before attending Mass on her 113th birthday at the Dominican Sisters' motherhouse in Amityville April 20, 2026. (OSV News/Gregory A. Shemitz)

At 113, Dominican sister named world's oldest nun for second year

Sr. Francis Dominici Piscatella has been a religious sister for 95 years.

ByGSR Staff

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

As Pope Leo leaves Africa, nuns say harder task begins: Turning his message into reality

Nature teaches me to celebrate Earth Day as my birthday

EcoVillage sustainable housing finds a place to build with Pittsburgh sisters