National Catholic Reporter | The Independent News Source

Jun 30, 2022

Aleja Hertzler-McCain (Courtesy of Sojourners/Christian Smutherman)

Aleja Hertzler-McCain is NCR's newest Bertelsen Fellow

by Joshua J. McElwee

Jun 30, 2022

Aleja Hertzler-McCain has been selected as National Catholic Reporter's newest Bertelsen Editorial Fellow, an NCR program that aims to support "the next generation of independent Catholic journalism."

Views

Links: Trump fatigue; artist Sam Gilliam dies; meet and greet two cardinals

Jun 30, 2022

Michael Sean Winters rounds up political news and commentary: Michael Gerson is passionate without being tendentious; why we need to overcome Trump fatigue; $50,000 to meet Cardinal Pell, $20,000 to meet Cardinal Sarah.

Pope Francis walks with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, accompanied by her husband, Paul, during a private audience Oct. 9, 2021, at the Vatican. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Despite row at home, Speaker Pelosi receives Communion at papal Mass, headlines Vatican events

by Christopher White

Jun 29, 2022

Despite a public row back at home with San Francisco's archbishop who has barred her from Communion over her support for abortion rights, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is currently making the rounds in Rome.

Squirrel (Unsplash/Clovis Wood Photography)

Views

We humans need to open our minds to the personhood of nonhuman animals

Jun 29, 2022

Fr. Daniel Horan: Too often, we humans live as if everything is about us and all nonhuman creation is for us to do with as we please. But more of us are beginning to explore of the idea of nonhuman animal personhood.

Opinion

Editorial

Editorial: Here's hoping Francis, the pope of surprises, keeps surprising us

by NCR Editorial Staff

Jun 30, 2022

We say: In the 10th year of his papacy, Pope Francis certainly still knows how to surprise, whether it's in the latest announcement of 21 new cardinals, or in a recent meeting with Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr.

Anti-abortion protesters gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington June 24. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)

Views

The abortion question may be decided politically. The real test is a moral one.

by Phyllis Zagano, Religion News Service

Jun 30, 2022

Phyllis Zagano: The controversy will not end soon, but if the bishops address "invincible ignorance," there may be fewer Catholic politicians supporting laws allowing abortion.

Views

Links: Trump fatigue; artist Sam Gilliam dies; meet and greet two cardinals

Jun 30, 2022

Views

We humans need to open our minds to the personhood of nonhuman animals

Jun 29, 2022

Views

How will the Supreme Court's decision on abortion affect the midterm elections?

Jun 29, 2022

Views

Why nonsense stories about the pope resigning keep popping up

by Thomas Reese, Religion News Service

Jun 28, 2022

Vatican

Pope Francis listens to Orthodox Archbishop Job of Telmessos while meeting a delegation representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople at the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican June 30 (CNS/Vatican Media)

Amid war, reconciliation among Christians can foster peace, pope says

by Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service

Jun 30, 2022

Meeting with a delegation from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople June 30, the pope said that as war continues to rage in Ukraine, it is a time not for "talking and discussing, but for weeping, for helping others and for experiencing conversion ourselves."

Editorial

Editorial: Here's hoping Francis, the pope of surprises, keeps surprising us

by NCR Editorial Staff

Jun 30, 2022

Pope at pallium Mass: Church must go out to 'meet the world'

by Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service

Jun 29, 2022

Catholics need better understanding of the Mass, pope says

by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Jun 29, 2022

Despite row at home, Speaker Pelosi receives Communion at papal Mass, headlines Vatican events

by Christopher White

Jun 29, 2022

Pope to send Cardinal Parolin to Congo, South Sudan

Jun 28, 2022

Politics

Migrants are seen outside the National Migration Institute in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, July 8, 2020, where they had to renew their permission to stay in Mexico while awaiting an immigration hearing in the United States. (CNS/Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

Supreme Court allows Biden to end Trump-era policy on asylum-seekers

by Carol Zimmermann, Catholic News Service

Jun 30, 2022

Catholic leaders praised the Supreme Court's June 30 decision that gave the Biden administration the go-ahead to rescind a Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" immigration policy requiring asylum-seekers at the southwest U.S. border to wait in Mexico for their asylum hearings.

Australian Cardinal George Pell is seen at a cafe near the Vatican in Rome Oct. 4, 2020. (CNS/Franco Origlia)

Views

Links: Trump fatigue; artist Sam Gilliam dies; meet and greet two cardinals

Jun 30, 2022

Links: Trump fatigue; artist Sam Gilliam dies; meet and greet two cardinals

Jun 30, 2022

How will the Supreme Court's decision on abortion affect the midterm elections?

Jun 29, 2022

Links: A 'bitterly polarized' America; Cardinal Müller's interview; GOP's future

Jun 28, 2022

Supreme Court sides with coach who sought to pray after game

by Jessica Gresko, Associated Press

Jun 27, 2022

People

Aleja Hertzler-McCain is NCR's newest Bertelsen Fellow

by Joshua J. McElwee

Jun 30, 2022

Sr. Agnes Hoang Minh Trang (center) visits two women with visual impairments May 13 in Phu Vang district, in Vietnam. Trang shared her vocation story with young women at Phuong Duc Church on May 8. (Joachim Pham)

Sisters inspire potential novices with stories of choosing vocation over romance

Jun 30, 2022

Congregations in Hue, Vietnam, organized recent gatherings to promote religious vocations among young women. Sisters told how they followed religious vocations versus other ways of life. They shared more details with GSR.

Catholic peace movement Pax Christi recognizes 20 new 'Ambassadors of Peace'

by Aleja Hertzler-McCain

Jun 29, 2022

Archbishop asks church to be in solidarity with migrants who died in truck

Jun 28, 2022

Speakers: 'Embracing historical memory' strengthens church ministries today

by Norma Montenegro Flynn, Catholic News Service

Jun 28, 2022

Building a home and experiencing the synod's theme

by Rose Cherian Vachaparampil

Jun 28, 2022

EarthBeat

A flower is pictured in front of the destroyed regional administration building following shelling by Russian troops in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, June 8. (CNS/Reuters/Edgar Su)

Commentary

As long as fossil fuels flow, dictators like Putin possess power

by Svitlana Romanko

Jun 30, 2022

Commentary: We need an all-out mobilization to build renewable energy in Europe and around the world, and it starts by divesting from fossil fuels. This will help us end the war in my country and rebuild Ukraine from the war ashes.

Waya Brown, who is Apache and Pomo, dances in a circle at Oak Flat campground on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, near Superior, Arizona. (RNS/Alejandra Molina)

Mine can be built on Apache sacred site, Oak Flat, federal appeals court rules

by Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service

Jun 28, 2022

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the government can proceed with the transfer of Oak Flat to a private venture that's planning an underground copper mine. The Apache Stronghold coalition said they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Catholic Theological Society of America resolves to divest from fossil fuels

by Brian Roewe

Jun 28, 2022

Among future food supply in the Arctic, pope's message preserved as 'seed of hope'

by Christopher White

Jun 25, 2022

California seeks to pass human composting bill as Catholic bishops oppose it

by Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service

Jun 24, 2022

Former business exec gets 22.5 years for role in Berta Cáceres murder

Jun 22, 2022

Culture

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in Lucasfilm's "Obi-Wan Kenobi," exclusively on Disney+. (© 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™)

Commentary

The redemption of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'

by Eric Clayton

Jun 25, 2022

While the latest installment of "Star Wars" gives us action-packed blaster battles, lightsaber fights, gasp-worthy cameos and a few questionable plot decisions — the real story is a spiritual one.

Book Review

'Outlove' tells how LGBTQ+ people do belong in the church

by Maxwell Kuzma

Jun 25, 2022

Book review: Outlove is the biographical survival story of Julie Rodgers, who grew up fiercely evangelical and passionately in love with Jesus with one small problem: She was attracted to other women.

'Outlove' tells how LGBTQ+ people do belong in the church

by Maxwell Kuzma

Jun 25, 2022

Celebrate Pride Month with books that honor all as 'wonderfully made'

by Flora x. Tang

Jun 18, 2022

Let's expand our imaginations this Father's Day

by Eric Clayton

Jun 18, 2022

An invitation to get past the shallow, well-charted waters of 'wokeness'

Jun 15, 2022

World

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, takes the oath of office beside his wife, Louise Araneta-Marcos, during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the National Museum in Manila, Philippines.

Marcos sworn in as Philippine president: 'You, the people, have spoken'

Jun 30, 2022

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was sworn in as the 17th president of the Philippines June 30, succeeding Rodrigo Duterte.

A woman prays in a pew at a nearly empty cathedral in Cologne, Germany, March 16, 2020. (CNS/KNA/Theodor Barth)

German leaders see crisis as Catholics resign from the church

by Thomas Winkel, Joachim Heinz, Catholic News Service

Jun 30, 2022

For the first time in the history of Germany, less than half the German population registered as members of one of the two large churches: Catholic and Protestant.

Church leaders push to expand their peacekeeping role in Africa

by Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service

Jun 29, 2022

Pope to send Cardinal Parolin to Congo, South Sudan

Jun 28, 2022

Pope blasts violence in Mexico as he mourns 2 slain Jesuits

by The Associated Press

Jun 22, 2022

Two Jesuits murdered defending person in Mexican parish

by David Agren, Catholic News Service

Jun 21, 2022

Global Sisters Report

Sisters inspire potential novices with stories of choosing vocation over romance

Jun 30, 2022

South Sudanese women sit outside their shelter in Genyiel county, Unity State, South Sudan, in this Sept. 24, 2020, file photo. Pope Francis had planned to visit Congo and South Sudan in early July, but that trip was canceled because of his health.

Resilient South Sudanese women deserve peace, respect and dignity

by Scholasticah Nganda

Jun 30, 2022

I wish for the pope, the church and the world to acknowledge and address the primary victims in South Sudan — the women who carry so much of the life-giving force of this young country and suffer much violence.

Missionaries of Charity kicked out of Nicaragua

by David Agren, Catholic News Service

Jun 29, 2022

Every grownup has an obligation to the children in our society

by Rosemary Wanyoike

Jun 29, 2022

Inflation, Ukraine war complicate getting aid to Ethiopia's most needy

by Laura Ieraci, Catholic News Service

Jun 28, 2022

Building a home and experiencing the synod's theme

by Rose Cherian Vachaparampil

Jun 28, 2022

Justice

A convoy of Nigerian soldiers patrol outside the town of Ouallam July 6, 2021. Church leaders are pushing to expand their peacekeeping role in Africa. (CNS/Reuters/Media Coulibaly)

Church leaders push to expand their peacekeeping role in Africa

by Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service

Jun 29, 2022

Church representatives from French-speaking Africa have urged closer regional cooperation in Catholic peacebuilding to offset mounting economic and security challenges across the continent.

Views

We humans need to open our minds to the personhood of nonhuman animals

Jun 29, 2022

Archbishop asks church to be in solidarity with migrants who died in truck

Jun 28, 2022

Helping immigrants build a haven amid fear and anger

by Amy Ketner

Jun 24, 2022

Gillgannon, US priest who spent three decades in Bolivia as Vatican II advocate, dies

by Thomas C. Fox

Jun 20, 2022

As DACA marks 10th anniversary, recipients voice frustration over inaction

by Rhina Guidos, Catholic News Service

Jun 16, 2022

Accountability

German leaders see crisis as Catholics resign from the church

by Thomas Winkel, Joachim Heinz, Catholic News Service

Jun 30, 2022

For the first time in the history of Germany, less than half the German population registered as members of one of the two large churches: Catholic and Protestant.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond conducts the procession to lead a live streamed Easter Mass in St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans April 12, 2020. The New Orleans Archdiocese declined to discuss the federal investigation. (AP file photo/Gerald Herbert)

FBI opens sweeping probe of clergy sex abuse in New Orleans

by Jim Mustian, The Associated Press

Jun 29, 2022

The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans going back decades, a rare federal foray into such cases looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them.

Vatican publishes slightly updated guidelines for handling abuse cases

by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Jun 27, 2022

Abuse survivors praise Supreme Court for declining to review California's Child Victims Act

by Katie Collins Scott

Jun 24, 2022

Southern Baptists agree to keep list of accused sex abusers

by Deepa Bharath, Peter Smith, Associated Press

Jun 15, 2022

Report finds 196 clerics abused minors in German diocese

by Associated Press

Jun 13, 2022

Coronavirus

Sr. Mary John Théophan Vénard Doan Thi Chuyen, far left, and another sister in medical gear serve a meal to two nuns with COVID-19 at Ho Ngoc Can Clinic in Xuan Truong district, Nam Dinh province. (Daughters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Bui Chu)

Vietnamese sisters look ahead after COVID-19 runs rampant through motherhouse

Apr 14, 2022

Most sisters, novices and postulants from the convents and communities of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Bui Chu have been infected with COVID-19, since the pandemic hit their motherhouse in January.

People wait for a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 5. (CNS/Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)

As a world in pandemic seeks a return to normal, leaders urge vigilance, vaccines

by Chris Herlinger, GSR Staff

Apr 14, 2022

As the world seeks normalcy in the COVID-19 pandemic's third year, leaders and experts urge vaccination and vigilance amid complacency, vaccine opposition, economic hardship, and inequalities in vaccine access.

Government to lift health measure that blocks entrance of asylum-seekers

by Rhina Guidos, Catholic News Service

Apr 1, 2022

A pandemic is tough for new moms, but Catholic Latina moms faced added hurdles

by Melissa Cedillo

Mar 28, 2022

A hospital chaplain reflects on the power of memory during COVID-19

by Steven Salido Fisher

Mar 24, 2022

As pandemic eases, will the Communion cup ever make a comeback?

by Brian Roewe

Mar 23, 2022

Parish

Bishops and priests are seen during the June 23 opening Mass of the "Alive in Christ: Young, Diverse, Prophetic Voices Journeying Together" national multicultural gathering in Chicago. (CNS/Courtesy U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops)

Speakers: 'Embracing historical memory' strengthens church ministries today

by Norma Montenegro Flynn, Catholic News Service

Jun 28, 2022

Finding healing and exploring ways to work more effectively with diverse communities was the focus of the general session on the second day of the "Alive in Christ: Young, Diverse, Prophetic Voices Journeying Together," a multicultural national gathering of Catholic ministry leaders.

In 2014 in Santiago, Chile, student Elvis played the role of Jesus in Colegio San Alberto's re-enactment of the Last Supper. (Amy Ketner)

Perspective

Helping immigrants build a haven amid fear and anger

by Amy Ketner

Jun 24, 2022

Perspective: I wanted Elvis and Daris to know the unconditional love of a welcoming, adoptive family. I longed for them, as immigrants and outsiders, to find acceptance in the Catholic community, as I had many times before.

Study provides 'detailed snapshot' of state of permanent diaconate in U.S.

Jun 7, 2022

Your thoughts on the failing church in the West

by NCR Staff

Jun 3, 2022

Why doesn't a pro-life Catholic Church offer paid leave for new mothers?

by Stephanie Clary

Jun 3, 2022

Faced with bishops' inaction, Canadian woman develops eco-investment toolkit

by Beatrice Ekoko

May 17, 2022

Spirituality

Pencil Preaching

We can forgive

Jun 29, 2022

Pencil Preaching will take a short break after this column. Be back later in July.

“The crowds were struck with awe and glorified God who had given...

Pencil Preaching

Peter and Paul, Apostles

Jun 28, 2022

Pencil Preaching for Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Wake up!

Jun 27, 2022

Something entirely new

Jun 26, 2022

Come with me

Jun 25, 2022

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Who will follow him?

by Mary M. McGlone

Jun 25, 2022

Theology

Views

We humans need to open our minds to the personhood of nonhuman animals