Protesters hold a placard outside Parliament in London as British lawmakers debate an assisted suicide bill on Nov. 29, 2024. (OSV News/Reuters/Mina Kim)

British and French Catholics struggle to turn the tide on assisted suicide

News

"This measure is being rushed without proper scrutiny and without fundamental questions surrounding safeguards being answered," said Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols of the debated U.K. "End of Life" bill.

The Latest

Q&A with 2 sister theologians on Francis' theological legacy: Part 2

Chris Herlinger
Letters to the Editor

Your letters: Working mothers, bishops, synodality and the womens' diaconate

NCR Staff

Eucharistic miracle in an Indian village invites us to see others as Christ sees them

Editors' Choice

Focus

Women pray the rosary before Mass in 2018 at Our Lady of Loretto Church in Hempstead, N.Y. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

In Focus

Study: Nearly half of US adults have ties to Catholicism, even if they don't go to church

One-fifth of U.S. people are Catholic, but nearly half of U.S. adults have some connection to the church, including cultural or former Catholics, or those connected to the church in other ways, a Pew study says.

Most Read Stories

#1
Pope Leo XIV will escape Rome's heat in July by going to papal villa

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed Leo would be staying in the Villa Barberini, the former summer residence of the Vatican secretaries of state; Francis turned the former papal palace on the town's main square into a museum, which opened in 2016.

ByCarol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Then-Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron addresses the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

#2
MSW apologizes to Bishop Barron, sort of

NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters admits he hurled a throwaway line at Bishop Robert Barron and he is a substantial person. "He deserves more than what reads like a Twitter rant," Winters writes.

ByMichael Sean Winters
Women pray the rosary before Mass in 2018 at Our Lady of Loretto Church in Hempstead, N.Y. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

#3
Study: Nearly half of US adults have ties to Catholicism, even if they don't go to church

One-fifth of U.S. people are Catholic, but nearly half of U.S. adults have some connection to the church, including cultural or former Catholics, or those connected to the church in other ways, a Pew study says.

ByPatricia Zapor

#4
7 decades of papacy illuminated in new book, 'Jesus Wept'

#5
New pope, new page: Peruvian designer leads makeover of Vatican website

#6
Pope Leo XIV faces major test over Opus Dei reforms

Opinion

Your letters: Working mothers, bishops, synodality and the womens' diaconate

Letters to the Editor

The Supreme Court and transgender rights: Did they get it right?

NCR Voices
Pope Francis celebrates a canonization Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in May 2022. (CNS/Paul Haring)

A church grows in Africa, but where are its saints?

For decades, African Catholics have felt their saints have been sidelined. The continent is home to some of the fastest-growing Catholic populations, yet very few modern Africans have been declared saints.

Freedom calling: On Corpus Christi and the feast of Juneteenth

US bishops are willing to whisper to members of Congress but not shout in the streets

Cardinal Cupich at Mass at White Sox stadium

Signs the political tide is turning on immigration

NCR Voices

"The flames of indignation that Trump has whipped up may end up consuming him and his signature campaign to deport millions of our immigrant brothers and sisters," writes NCR's Michael Sean Winters.
 

Vatican

Pope: Resist the 'temptation' of embracing weapons

The world must resist the allure of modern weapons which threaten to give conflicts a ferocity surpassing that of previous wars, Pope Leo XIV said.

Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

What US adults think about Pope Leo XIV, according to a new AP-NORC poll

Just over a month after Pope Leo XIV became the first U.S.-born pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church, a new poll shows that American Catholics are feeling excited about their new religious leader.

ByLuis Andres Henao, AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX , The Associated Press

Pope Leo XIV will escape Rome's heat in July by going to papal villa

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed Leo would be staying in the Villa Barberini, the former summer residence of the Vatican secretaries of state; Francis turned the former papal palace on the town's main square into a museum, which opened in 2016.

ByCarol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Brother Leo and Gabby take a look at the weekend's events.

The Leo Chronicles: A Chicago message

The Leo Chronicles: Brother Leo and Gabby take a look at the weekend's events.

ByPat Marrin

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vatican News

Pope urges peace, warns against escalation in Middle East conflict

Pope sets Sept. 7 for joint canonization of Blesseds Acutis and Frassati

Diversity is cause for strength, not division, pope tells Rome clergy

Pope Leo XIV greets María Lía Zervino, a member of the council of the Laudato Si' Movement, and Lorna Gold, executive director, after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican May 28, 2025. (OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media/Catholic Press Photo)
Faith

What role will Pope Leo XIV play in the future of Laudato Si' ecological action?

The next phase in the life of Laudato Si', the decade-old encyclical on ecology, will not be defined by its author, Pope Francis, but instead will rely on others across the Catholic Church, including Pope Leo XIV.

A view of the interior of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican (Unsplash/Anna Church)

Vatican presents ongoing plans to further reduce carbon footprint

St. Peter's Basilica and some of its surrounding buildings are working to reduce their environmental impact by becoming more energy efficient and promoting sustainability, based on findings by a scientific committee.

ByCarol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Pope Leo XIV receives a gift during a meeting with bishops from Madagascar visiting Rome for the Holy Year 2025 at the Vatican June 16, 2025. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Pope urges Madagascar's bishops to protect creation as prophetic mission

Pope Leo XIV asked Madagascar's bishops to embrace the care of creation as a central part of their prophetic ministry, calling on them to safeguard the unique ecological beauty and fragility of their homeland.

ByJustin McLellan, Catholic News Service
A file photo shows smoke from the American Electric Power's coal-fired Mountaineer Power Plant along the banks of the Ohio River in New Haven, W.Va. (OSV News/Jim West)
Viewpoints

10 NCR editorials call for climate action from US bishops, ordinary Catholics and beyond

Over the years, NCR has consistently called for climate action — and applauded when it happens. Here are the 10 most recent editorials focused on the climate, environment and Catholic teaching on care for creation.

ByNCR Staff

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Augustinian sisters sustain environment and livelihoods in Mozambique

Politics

Protect life by protecting the oceans, faith groups tell UN conference

Delaware garden of plenty provides food to needy, thanks to Vincentians, parishes

Culture

Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) in "Andor," exclusively on Disney+ (©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™)

Star Wars' 'Andor' takes on the American empire

In showing exactly what it takes to resist the ever-growing power of a fascist empire, Disney's "Andor" serves as both a prophetic example — and a desperate warning cry.

Pope Francis arrives in procession with other bishops during Mass at the Maquehue Airport near Temuco, Chile, Jan. 17, 2018. (CNS/Paul Haring)

7 decades of papacy illuminated in new book, 'Jesus Wept'

Tragedy and hope vie for thematic supremacy in Philip Shenon's newest book, Jesus Wept: Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of the Catholic Church, a highly readable, character-driven narrative following seven convulsive decades within the papacy, Vatican and global church.

ByJason Berry
"The Life of Chucl=k"

Mike Flanagan talks about Stephen King, the empathy of horror and 'The Life of Chuck'

 Horror, is "sometimes the wrapper the story is in, but you have to understand that he's writing about love, and he's writing about humanity," the filmmaker said.   

ByJim McDermott
Scarlett Johansson looking at Jonathan Bailey holding an egg in "Jurassic World: Rebirth." (Universal Pictures)

2025's summer blockbusters are here, and the nostalgia is strong

Hollywood's serving up a perfect mix of nostalgia and fresh takes this summer, promising an epic lineup of blockbuster films ready to entertain, excite and surprise moviegoers in 2025.

ByPrincess Jones

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

'God in the Rubble': Ike Ndolo's musical activism for Gaza

Artist Caravaggio's faith shines in new Rome exhibit and at churches run by Pope Leo XIV's order

A collection of WWII memoirs embraces complexity

(GSR graphic/Olivia Bardo; photo sources, from left: CNS/Paul Haring, CNS/Vatican Media, CNS file, OSV News/Reuters/Yara Nardi)

Q&A with 2 sister theologians on Francis' theological legacy: Part 2

Theologians Sr. Maeve Heaney and Sr. Maria Cimperman discuss the continuities between Pope Francis and his predecessors, his relationship with liberation theology, and their hopes for Pope Leo XIV.

A picture of a face — believed to be Jesus — appeared on a eucharistic host in the village of Vilakkannur, India, in 2013. (Lismy Parayil)
Columns

Eucharistic miracle in an Indian village invites us to see others as Christ sees them

The miraculous image of Jesus on the host at Vilakkanur seems to whisper a gentle message to all the faithful: "See me in your brothers and sisters. Treat them as you would treat me."

By
(GSR graphic/Olivia Bardo; Pope Francis photo from CNS/Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane)

Q&A with 2 sister theologians on Francis' theological legacy: Part 1

As theologians, Srs. Maeve Heaney and Maria Cimperman revisit Pope Francis' pastoral theology, the impact of his ecological encyclical Laudato Si', and his push for a synodal church.

ByChris Herlinger
At Operation Breakthrough in Kansas City, Mo., girls ages 6-8 spend time in a room devoted to encouraging stem education after school hours. Activities range from legos to cooking to teach math and science skills. (GSR photo/Soli Salgado)

Sisters began a day care for Kansas City's working poor. Now, it's a huge operation.

What Srs. Berta Sailer and Corita Bussanmas began as a day care 50 years ago has morphed into Operation Breakthrough, a nonprofit educating underprivileged kids of Kansas City, even after the sisters' deaths.

ByDan Stockman

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Protesting Trump, US sisters hail 'No Kings' events as 'beginning of a movement'

Atrocities of Auschwitz and Birkenau compel us to act with love

Against the tides of war: Vietnamese sisters recall the price of faith and survival