Front page

Bishop Barron paints Charlie Kirk as Christlike. That's not based in reality.

Tulio Huggins

The property of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Wheeling, West Virginia (Courtesy of Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph)

David Crary, Associated Press

Fracking will invade, violate, pollute our land, says West Virginia Catholic sister

Helen Skormisle

The Latest

September 18, 2025

Charlie Kirk's AI resurrection ushers in a new era of digital grief

Jack Jenkins

September 18, 2025

How faith-based support is helping Scouting America stabilize

September 18, 2025

Jailed Catholic priests 'used as hostages' in Belarus

Jonathan Luxmoore, OSV News

Editors' Choice

U.S. Rep Emanuel Cleaver walks through the Missouri candidate filing process in February 2024. (Missouri Independent/Annelise Hanshaw)

Guest Voices

Brian Kaylor, Missouri Independent

Missouri Republicans invoke Christian values to gerrymander out a Methodist minister

A reader holds folded hands on top of an open Bible that lays on a wooden surface. (Unsplash/Jametlene Reskp)

In Focus

Once on brink of despair, first Nicaragua-born bishop in US 'full of joy' and hope

Pedro Bismarck Chau was 16 when he came to the United States as an undocumented immigrant in 1984. He was ordained as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., on Sept. 8.

Camillo Barone

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Opinion

Daniel P. Horan

Trying to pray during the horrors of our current moment

Helen Skormisle

Fracking will invade, violate, pollute our land, says West Virginia Catholic sister

Daniel P. Horan

Trying to pray during the horrors of our current moment

Dan Horan reviews theologian Hanna Reichel's For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional, a book that arrived by sheer coincidence of timing, or direct act of divine providence, an answer to unspoken prayers.

Helen Skormisle

Fracking will invade, violate, pollute our land, says West Virginia Catholic sister

Helen Skormisle

Fracking will invade, violate, pollute our land, says West Virginia Catholic sister

James V. Grimaldi

In the fray of brutal, gutting and unforgiving stories

NCR Voices

Executive Editor James Grimaldi reflects a journalist's work in 2025, in the aftermath of horrendous video of Charlie Kirk's murder, and a school shooting that hit close to home for National Catholic Reporter staff.

Vatican

Pope nixes 'virtual pope' idea, explains concerns about AI

Pope Leo XIV said a proposal to create an AI-version of him so people could have a virtual audience with the pope pretty much horrified him.

Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

In interview, Pope Leo urges US bishops to engage Trump, discusses Gaza, abuse and LGBTQ+ issues

ByJustin McLellan

Pope tells new US ambassador he is praying for Charlie Kirk and his family

Pope Leo XIV told the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See that he is praying for Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist assassinated in Utah last week, as well as his wife and children, the Vatican spokesman said Tuesday.

ByAssociated Press

Relentless effort, quick action are not always the answer, pope says

In an overly frenetic world, the Gospel teaches the importance of stopping, resting and trusting in the Lord, Pope Leo XIV said.

ByCarol Glatz, Catholic News Service

Palestinians are living in 'unacceptable' conditions, pope says

Pope phones Gaza parish as Israeli launches new offensive on city

Theology must address climate change, AI, other real concerns, pope says

EarthBeat

Fracking will invade, violate, pollute our land, says West Virginia Catholic sister

For decades, the Sisters of St. Joseph refused to lease land to gas companies. Now they have no choice. A new West Virginia law allows fracking against a landowner's wishes if enough neighbors agree to fracking on their land.

Helen Skormisle

ByCindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Theology must address climate change, AI, other real concerns, pope says

Because "true knowledge of God is realized in a life transformed by love," the Catholic Church needs theologians whose pursuit of understanding is framed by care for the real concerns of modern men and women, Pope Leo XIV said.

Late evening sun illuminates rock formations at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 23, 2020. (OSV News/Bob Roller)

You don't have to be a superhero to honor the Season of Creation

None of us individually is going to save the world. But each of us can do something. And here's something that's one of the world's largest sources of microplastic pollution and energy waste. I'm talking about clothes.

ByEffie Caldarola, OSV News

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, speaks at an event in Athens, Greece on May 8, 2025. (AP photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

Orthodox patriarch visits US to meet with Trump, receive award for environmental work

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is making his first visit in four years to the United States, where he was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump and receive honors for his environmental advocacy.

ByPeter Smith, The Associated Press

As Africa prepares for COP30, its Catholic bishops urge African solutions on climate

Messages that mobilize: How to convince church leadership to take climate action

Catholic networks: Push for profits, power threaten peace, climate justice

Culture

Each episode of "The Pitt" follows one single hour of the same day, as the staff at the emergency room of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center deal with bureaucratic, medical and personal issues. (Warrick Page/HBO Max)

Binge-watching 'The Pitt' with COVID was a deeply consoling experience

Jose Solís wasn't a big fan of medical dramas when he turned on HBO Max's 'The Pitt.' But not only did it hold his attention through 104° fever and extreme fatigue, he found himself deeply consoled by it as well.

Jose Solís

For some Dobson kids, focusing on the family led to estrangement

These days, Focus on the Family is offering a new kind of parenting advice, this time tailored for parents whose adult kids have gone 'no contact.'

ByKathryn Post, Religion News Service

Morgan Spector plays George Russell, an amalgam of Cornelius Vanderbilt and his grandson William in HBO's "The Gilded Age." (HBO/Karolina Wojtasik)

'The Gilded Age' asks us to sympathize with the class that's destroying us

HBO's popular costume drama series "The Gilded Age" asks us to sympathize with people much like those currently running our country into the ground, writes Jim McDermott.

ByJim McDermott

In her new book, Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter, America magazine's Colleen Dulle opens up about her own disillusionment with the institutional church throughout her tenure as a reporter – and why and how she's stayed Catholic despite the often devastating disappointments. (Chris Geerdes)

Book Reviews

Q&A with Colleen Dulle on keeping the faith when the church disappoints

In her new book, Colleen Dulle opens up about her disillusionment with the institutional church throughout her tenure as a Vatican reporter — and why and how she has stayed Catholic despite devastating disappointments.

ByOlivia Bardo

In 2025, the 'immortal' Henrietta Lacks is still receiving her due

The many faces of the movie nun

Seth Worley on directing 'Sketch' and empowering kids to make art out of pain

Courtyard surrounded by open arched windows

The urgent need for systematic safeguarding in religious communities

Religious communities cannot claim moral authority while failing to protect their own members from harm.

Child's drawing shows cat and the word love.

A little child shall lead them to build bridges of art and hope

We are inviting young people everywhere to create: to express, to heal, to unite, to hope and to grow together.

Sr. Ruth Kuyumba, right, engages Memory Musonda and her son Joshua in a conversation during a home visit. Sr. Agnes Kateule, left, uses sign language to communicate with Joshua. Memory and Joshua were beneficiaries of the recently defunded Inclusive Family Strengthening project, formerly managed by the Sisters of Mercy with support from Catholic Relief Services. (Derrick Silimina)

Inclusive Family Strengthening project, now defunded, bolstered women in Zambia

"We recorded over 200 success stories," says Mercy Sr. Ruth Kuyumba, former coordinator of the project, which "also promoted fathers' participation in parenting and ensured every child has a home to grow up in."