Pope Leo speaks June 26, 2026, at the opening of an extraordinary consistory of cardinals in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican June 26-27. (OSV News/Vatican Media/Simone Risoluti)
Vatican News

Cardinals weigh replacing 'just war' language with 'proportional defense'

Vatican

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Vatican's doctrine office, said the doctrine has led to church teaching being "manipulated to provide a theoretical foundation for the most unjust wars."

The Latest

A Trump commission urges 'bridges' between church and state in sweeping draft report

Peter Smith, Associated Press
Soul Seeing

How a bagel shop clerk reminded me to look around and notice the good

Patrick T. Reardon

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: The demands and generosity of discipleship

Editors' Choice

An engraving titled, "Barbarity committed on a free African, who was found on the ensuing morning, by the side of the road, dead!" published in 1822 (Library of Congress/Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.)

In Focus

Pope Leo has initiated the conversation Black Catholics have been waiting for

Magnifica Humanitas is the most significant map for healing that the papacy has ever placed in the hands of the Black Catholic community, writes Jesuit Fr. Patrick Saint-Jean.

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Most Read Stories

Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets visitors during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 17, 2026. A day earlier, Leo spoke with journalists about the Society of St. Pius X. (CNS/Vatican Media)

#1
Pope says church 'must move forward' if SSPX proceeds with illicit ordinations

Pope Leo XIV said that although he is considering a final appeal to the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, the choice to splinter from the Catholic Church falls on them.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News
Close-up of a holy card’s depiction of Mary, the Immaculate Conception, which draws on symbolism from the Book of Revelation. (Courtesy of The Marian Library/University of Dayton)

#2
Why Mary, as the Immaculate Conception, became patron saint of the US in the 1840s

Librarians at the University of Dayton created a digital exhibit with objects pointing to the history of devotion to Mary as the Immaculate Conception in the United States.

ByStephanie Shreffler, Bridget Retzloff, The Conversation

#3
A viral photo of Pope Leo XIV and a Barcelona boy sparked an emotional search for his family

Pope Leo XIV locked eyes with the 7-year-old boy, holding both his hands as the two smiled at one another. Captured by Associated Press chief photographer Emilio Morenatti, the moment resonated first with onlookers and then with many others around the world.

ByEmilio Morenatti, Giovanna Dell'orto, Associated Press

#4
'On Eagle's Wings' turns 50: The journey behind the song that has consoled the world

#5
Pope Leo prays at relics of St. Augustine, then visits Mother Cabrini's birthplace

#6
Sitting by Dorothy Day's grave, her granddaughter reflects on faith, family and war

Opinion

An African theologian considers what Africa can contribute to pope's consistory

Guest Voices

We need to get offline and get in person this summer

Guest Voices
A seagull flies past as Pope Leo XIV recites the Regina Coeli noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican May 10, 2026. (AP/Andrew Medichini)

A deeper look at Pope Leo's encyclical: Catholic social teaching's purpose in AI age

Guest Voices

"Catholic social teaching is not a collection of eternal principles that can be applied in every historical context," writes Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese. "It evolves in dialogue with the times."

Podcast: For Palestinian Zoughbi Zougbhi, hope 'is a form of nonviolent struggle'

Guest Voices

Why we can't toss aside just war theory

NCR Voices
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, concelebrates Mass as the bishops consecrate the U.S. to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Orlando, Florida, June 11, 2026, during their spring plenary assembly. (OSV News/Bob Roller)

Dear bishops: Devotion to Sacred Heart requires solidarity with LGBTQ community

Guest Voices

"The Sacred Heart of Jesus is not detached from human suffering, but beats within the living body of Christ," a body made up of the poor, the oppressed and the rejected, writes Maxwell Kuzma.

Vatican

Pope Leo speaks June 26, 2026, at the opening of an extraordinary consistory of cardinals in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican June 26-27. (OSV News/Vatican Media/Simone Risoluti)
Vatican News

Cardinals weigh replacing 'just war' language with 'proportional defense'

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Vatican's doctrine office, said the doctrine has led to church teaching being "manipulated to provide a theoretical foundation for the most unjust wars."

The homilies and addresses of Pope Leo XIV are now coming to English readers
Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV receives World Series baseball from former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski

Pope Leo XIV has received a special gift from former Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

ByJay Cohen, The Associated Press
Pope Leo XIV gives a blessing after meeting with writers from around the world at the Capitolare Hall of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican June 24, 2026, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Holy See's publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana. (OSV News/Vatican News/Simone Risoluti)

Pope Leo hosts Pulitzer Prize-winning authors at Vatican for discussion on power of written word

Pulitzer Prize winners, a Nobel laureate, celebrated novelists and authors from nearly a dozen countries met at the Vatican for an audience with Pope Leo XIV, who reflected on the importance of books to reveal who we are and "our inner dialogue with God."

ByCourtney Mares, OSV News
Pope Leo XIV greets a child from the popemobile while riding around St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience June 24, 2026. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Eucharist transforms believers into Christ's body and counters division, pope says

Participation in the Eucharist transforms believers into the body of Christ and offers a remedy to the divisions affecting families and communities, Pope Leo XIV said.

ByJosephine Peterson, Catholic News Service

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

These traditionalist Catholics are defying Pope Leo XIV, and embracing their outsider status

Vatican News

Vatican rejects request for laity, women to preach homily during Mass

Vatican News

'Magnifica Humanitas' discussions prominent in schedule for upcoming consistory

EarthBeat

Mount Cristo Rey protest

Bishops plan Mass on pilgrimage mountain Trump administration seeks to seize

As the Trump administration moves to seize a diocesan pilgrimage site for the border wall, bishops from New Mexico and Texas are calling on the faithful to join them for Mass on the mountain.

A worker carries a solar panel atop the roof of Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church, in Hazard, Kentucky. The mission parish completed the solar installation in May. (Lexington Diocese/Joshua Van Cleef)

Catholic dioceses race for solar credits ahead of GOP tax law's early phaseout

Dozens of Catholic institutions across the U.S. are sprinting to develop solar projects to the point that they meet federal tax credit requirements before they go away under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

ByBrian Roewe

Archbishop calls for prayer, solidarity after twin earthquakes devastate Venezuela

The archbishop of Caracas called for prayers and solidarity after back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela, killing over 150 people and injuring hundreds more.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves
Youths carry freshly caught fish from the sea in Havana, Cuba, Monday, June 1, 2026. (RNS/AP/Ramon Espinosa)

With Cuba in crisis, faith groups work to influence policy, deliver aid

U.S. Republican administrations have long seen faith groups as a cornerstone for humanitarian aid and community trust as they push for regime change in Cuba.

ByAleja Hertzler-McCain, Religion News Service

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A top banker tried to sway Pope Leo XIV on rare earth mining

Notre Dame study links climate change to stunted child growth in Africa

Argentine Catholics join push to reverse Milei's changes to glacier protection law

Culture

A portion of "St. Teresa of Avila" (1660s) by Juan Antonio De Frias y Escalante (Artvee)
Book Reviews

'What Grows in Weary Lands' is a satisfactory, if incomplete, look at monastic thought

Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren's new book attempts to translate monkish habits for Christians navigating spiritual desolation in today's comfort-seeking, digitally distracted age. 

Freedom Under Grace book cover

The homilies and addresses of Pope Leo XIV are now coming to English readers

 A collection of early public writings by the future Pope Leo XIV will be published this fall for the first time in English.

ByHillel Italie, Associated Press
Iran's Alireza Jahanbakhsh (7) participates in a training session ahead of his team's World Cup Group G soccer match against Belgium Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP photo/Gregory Bull)

World Cup: Superstars are fun to watch, but underdogs make the sport great

The world's most-watched sporting event is famous for athletes like Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal, but the grit of lesser-known players representing small but scrappy countries is where the real inspiration lies.

ByMichael O'Connell
From left: Sr. Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking author; Catherine Anyango Grünewald, illustrator for the new graphic edition; actress Susan Sarandon, who portrayed Prejean in the 1996 film; and Rose Vines, who adapted the text for the graphic novel, pose Nov. 6, 2025, at the book launch in Manhattan. (Fordham University/Leo Sorel)
Book Reviews

Graphic novel of 'Dead Man Walking' retains memoir's moral core

The new graphic novel based on Sr. Helen Prejean's bestselling memoir about ministering on Louisiana's death row will attract new readers and satisfy longtime fans of the original book.

ByChris Herlinger

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

New podcast explores Black Catholic resistance to Detroit's parish closures

Faith, fear and the wisdom of nuns in Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day'

'Hazbin Hotel,' the best Catholic show on TV, is queer as hell

A photo presents an extreme close-up of a pair of hands holding and possibly offering forward a full glass of drinking water. (Unsplash/Amanda Yum)
Columns

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: The demands and generosity of discipleship

Theologians' Corner - May Jesus find in us a willingness to follow him wholeheartedly.

At the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Peace in Columbus, Ohio, jubilarians renew their vows on June 7, 2026, at a gathering to celebrate their milestone anniversaries of religious life, ranging from 50 to 80 years. (Courtesy of Ana Gonzalez)
Columns

Jubilarians are living witnesses of religious life and its Spirit-led changes

As I looked at the jubilarians, I reflected on their decades of prayer, ministry, service and fidelity lived one day at a time. Each of these women had once said yes to a call whose future she could not fully imagine.

By
Sr. Mary Brendan Ezigbo works at the Enugu Custodial Center in southeastern Nigeria, where she attends to the spiritual needs of inmates. (Ekpali Saint)

How one Catholic nun is helping Nigerian inmates find faith and a second chance

Daughter of Divine Love Sr. Mary Brendan Ezigbo says catechesis to inmates is "a call I received from God to reach out to these poor souls. ... I am called to work among the least of Jesus' brothers."

ByEkpali Saint
Housemaids prepare food during the 20th anniversary celebration of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul sisters' housemaid training program on May 10, 2026, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. (Joachim Pham)

Vietnamese nuns defend dignity over quick money in housemaid training

The Salesian-run Phuoc Loc Technology College has trained hundreds of disadvantaged women from across Vietnam in cooking, childcare, elder care, communication skills and personal formation.

ByJoachim Pham

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Church leaders welcome acquittal of Indian nun, laywoman in child trafficking case

My friend, John the Baptizer

Q&A with a 106-year-old YouTuber nun, from enclosure to digital evangelization