Aleja Hertzler-McCain

"The regime in Nicaragua has sharply increased its persecution of the Catholic Church by imprisoning clergy, shuttering church-affiliated organizations, and prohibiting Catholic rituals," a new report said.

In NCR interviews after the announcement that Pope Francis will expand participation in the upcoming synod to include laypersons as voting members, theologians and reform groups praised the move as a substantial change.

For almost two months, state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who is Catholic, has successfully filibustered nearly every bill in Nebraska's unicameral legislature as a way of stopping passage of a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

Data shows that after natural disasters, people with disabilities experience worse outcomes. Leaders in disaster response and operations spoke to NCR about actions and initiatives that could help.

Despite a decline, Catholics remain the largest religious group among Latinos in the United States, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

Critics say the Vatican statement that the 15th-century documents "were manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers" sidesteps its responsibility in legitimizing exploitation of Indigenous peoples.

San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy sharply criticized the Eternal Word Television Network, the conservative Catholic U.S. media conglomerate, in an interview with Spanish magazine Vida Nueva published on March 24. 

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to the Rev. Jim Wallis and students of Georgetown University March 23, as part of a new series where political leaders will speak about the role of faith and ethics in their lives.

Scholars and Catholics spoke to NCR about how Pope Francis has dealt with the Catholic Church's history of colonialism, and how he has confronted colonialism in its continuing forms.

As the pandemic's fourth year begins in March and many political and church leaders turn their attention away from COVID-19, high-risk and COVID-vulnerable Catholics say they feel abandoned by the government and the church.

One of Pope Francis' key advisers on clergy sexual abuse admitted that the pontiff's signature effort to confront abuse and cover-up is "very often" not working, as part of a virtual conversation with Catholic abuse survivors on March 2.

On Feb. 17, 82 people began a hunger strike at two central California immigration detention centers, protesting the facilities' conditions and demanding their closure.

The Public Religion Research Institute says its new survey is the first of its kind to examine opinions on abortion in each of the states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

After a deadly shooting at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Catholic campus ministers at St. John Church and Student Center say they are focused on being present for students and community members.

Fordham University's new report criticizes the global Jesuit religious order for placing importance on discretion when handling Catholic priests accused of abuse, instead of on discipline or prevention of further abuse.

Fordham Faculty United called off a strike originally planned for Jan. 30 after the union reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with the administration of the Jesuit university in New York City.

The Catholic Church's role running boarding schools that separated Indigenous children from their family resonates as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that that could overturn the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act.

Bishop Oscar Cantú told NCR that lack of representation can cause a negative feedback loop for Hispanic Catholics: "When they don't see someone like themselves in those roles, they don't imagine themselves in those roles."

As the U.S. bishops undertake a three-year initiative to revive Catholics' interest in attending Mass, some church leaders are focusing on the tendency of many Latino Catholics to refrain from receiving Communion.

Catholics in the San Antonio Archdiocese endured a fatal school shooting in Uvalde in May, and the deaths of 53 migrants in June. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller spoke to NCR on leading a community amid these tragedies.