Aleja Hertzler-McCain

On his tour of the U.S., Fr. Mattia Ferrari has heard from many immigrants experiencing fear, family separation and even detention: "They are suffering something that is completely unfair, completely unjust."

Despite the fact that many Venezuelan faith leaders have been themselves impacted by the ongoing disaster, they’ve sprung into action to provide food, psychological support and other basic needs to the large population of victims.

On the anniversary of a Supreme Court ruling reinstating the U.S. death penalty, faith leaders join calls for an end to the death penalty. But religion has also been present in support for capital punishment.

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.

Sr. Teresa Groth runs Francisco Homes, a housing program for formerly incarcerated men, including immigrants facing deportation.

The land targeted by the federal government is at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, a mountain and pilgrimage site topped by a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ.

The Vatican released a report on Tuesday (May 5) that included the testimony of two married gay Catholics and acknowledged the church's role in "the solitude, anguish, and stigma that accompany persons with same-sex attractions and their families." The report also reflects on the negative impacts of conversion therapy, or "the devastating effects of reparative therapies aimed at recovering heterosexuality."

Though majorities in both groups support abortion being legal, a new survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found that both white Catholics and white mainline/nonevangelical Protestants have demonstrated a small swing toward an anti-abortion position since 2024. 

Over nearly the last year, the bishops have gradually ramped up a forceful and united defense of the American pope’s critiques of Trump administration policies.

A peculiar meeting at the Pentagon between apostolic nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who serves as Pope Leo XIV's U.S. representative, and a senior Department of Defense official has led to a flurry of speculation and concern about the relationship between the Pentagon and the Vatican.

Archbishop-designate James Golka, bishop of Colorado Springs since 2021, has the potential to unify Denver's 600,000 Catholics. He will be installed March 25.

The plaintiff group — the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership — has announced that Cardinal Blase Cupich will be joining them for Ash Wednesday Mass.

"I've had some priests who are of a different color being targeted and arrested — stopped — because of their color and asking them to prove that they're citizens. That's not America," the Chicago cardinal said.

Cardinals and coworkers praised Carr at his retirement after more than 50 years of work for the Catholic Church.

Some experts and bishops told RNS that, in a fraught moment, dialogue and public criticism are complementary strategies.

The survey found the religiously unaffiliated nearly doubled or saw even larger gains in every country.

Clergy, churches and other religious organizations wrestle with how to mark one of the most important Christian holidays while also serving an immigrant population in crisis.

Sixty percent of Catholics under 18 identify as Hispanic, but Latinos are underrepresented at Catholic universities. Latinos are also a minority among campus ministers and make up less than 10% of theology students. Experts worry that this lack of access will mean fewer Latinos becoming priests, sisters and others serving the church, even as the church works to transform its institutions to reflect its changing demographics.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who heads the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, said in a statement Wednesday (Dec. 3) that an order to kill survivors of an attack by U.S. forces on a boat in the Caribbean would be wrong if they posed no immediate danger to those forces.

Many Catholic university leaders are trying to thread the needle between staying under the Trump administration’s radar and framing their work with marginalized students as grounded in their Catholic identities.