Aleja Hertzler-McCain

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.

Though President Donald Trump's gains with Hispanic Christians were a crucial part of his winning coalition in the 2024 election, those gains are showing signs of eroding. A year after the election, a majority of Latino Catholics and Protestants have mostly negative views on Trump's job so far as president, especially when it comes to his immigration policies.

Rumors and viral reports about potential ICE raids have immigrant church leaders worried about their congregations. DHS says it doesn’t have plans to raid churches — but won't rule it out.

In his first speech from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV took the opportunity to endorse synodality, signaling that this cornerstone theological idea of Pope Francis' papacy would continue to guide the Catholic Church. With Leo's backing, Catholic leaders in the pope's home country have wasted no time in implementing its practical applications.

"The Scripture teaches us that person is revealing to me the face of Christ. And so, how am I treating Jesus? How am I not abandoning this person in their time of loss?"

For three Guatemalan roofers, there has only been one place they have found community in the six years since the first one arrived here — Catholic Mass. As one of the three men, the most talkative of the Mayan language Q'eqchi'-speaking group, put it, "We don't know anybody other than the parish here."

In a city of about 100,000, the 13,000 parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi have become a force to be reckoned with. 

Latino Christian leaders meeting in Southern California discussed how best to pastor congregations newly traumatized by the Trump mass deportation policy.

While many school leaders have become resigned to the necessity of preparing for potential school shootings, it was shocking to Catholics across the country to learn of an attack while students were gathered for worship.

According to Fr. Emilio Biosca Agüero, a Capuchin Franciscan and pastor at the church, there are seven parishioners currently in detention, including a man in marriage preparation and another in confirmation class. Some, he said, had been detained on their way to the church for catechetical classes over the past few weeks.

San Diego Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido has partnered with Episcopal, Lutheran, Jewish and Muslim clergy, as well as lay people, to provide accompaniment for immigrants at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hearings every day in August. Clergy nationwide are going with immigrants to court appointments.

 Some churches report lower attendance at services. Others have added programs to serve people affected by Trump administration tactics.  

At age 47, Bishop-designate Thomas Hennen will be the youngest bishop leading a U.S. diocese. Hennen's ministry to LGBTQ+ people has seen mixed reactions about his pastoral approach.

As the so-called One Big, Beautiful Bill made its way toward congressional approval last month, U.S. Catholic bishops signed their names to not one but two letters to senators on the same day, both airing misgivings. The existence of dueling letters, church observers say, offered a rare public glimpse of a rift that's been years in the making.

As the archbishop threads the needle between two leadership roles that have never been held by the same man, he has shied away from publicly criticizing President Donald Trump, even when issuing statements critical of Trump administration actions on Iran or mass deportations.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops took a firm but mixed approach to the bill, while other Catholic leaders signed an interfaith letter asking senators to oppose the bill.