Brian Fraga

With the Nov. 3 midterm elections approaching, a handful of Catholic bishops in the United States have recently been speaking out about the importance of protecting voting rights.

Actions to safeguard voting are "rooted in the belief that everyone who can vote should feel safe to do so, and that every vote should count, because we believe that democracy is sacred," said one advocate.

"Even religious groups who have traditionally been his strongest supporters see him less favorably than they used to," a Pew analyst wrote.

Abortion is on the ballot in Virginia, Nevada, Idaho and Missouri this November, and the Catholic bishops in those states have been speaking out in hopes of convincing voters to side with the pro-life campaigns.

The first-class relic of Fulton Sheen was presented during his beatification Mass Sept. 24. As images of Sheen's mandible have spread on social media, reactions have been strong and swift.

"It pains me to reflect on how much Leah — who will forever be one day shy of her 25th birthday on this side of eternity — missed out on," writes NCR's Brian Fraga. 

The papal encyclical Magnifica Humanitas was a focal point of a Sept. 9 public dialogue on "AI, Catholic Social Teaching, and Pope Leo's Invitation to Dialogue with the World" at Georgetown University.

"There is widespread concern that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to higher unemployment and to fewer jobs that can support a family," Archbishop Shelton Fabre said in a statement for Labor Day.

A growing number of Catholic higher education institutions in recent years have introduced new academic majors and programs in artificial intelligence that combine technical training with ethics.

The proposed figures "stand tall and alone, adorned with Catholic iconography," wrote one justice. The case will now proceed in a lower state court that is hearing arguments in the 2025 lawsuit. 

Two faculty unions and the New York State Attorney General's Office say that the school's Catholic identity does not make it exempt from state labor law. 

Louis Massett recounts his formative years and experiences as a young adult immersed in the world of the Society of St. Pius X in the new autobiography Traddyland: The Memoir of a Radical Traditional Catholic.

The bishops' remarks are the latest in a series of statements that Catholic prelates across the country have released over the past year expressing solidarity with beleaguered immigrant communities.

Emphasizing stricter adherence to church norms, the change mirrors those several bishops in recent years have made to tighten diocesan policies pertaining to funerals and burials.

Earlier this month, the Vatican declared SSPX priests to be schismatic and warned the faithful to stop attending their Masses. Some parishioners at St. Catherine of Siena expressed defiance, and the church itself is sending a similar message.

San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú told NCR that local church officials have been having conversations with those in the tech industry who are developing the AI tools that have the potential to reshape the global economy.

In the last two weeks, venture tech capitalist Peter Thiel has accused Pope Leo XIV of being a Chinese communist agent because of his teaching on AI, and has insinuated that Pope Francis was an Antichrist figure.

Catholic immigration advocates praised the U.S. Supreme Court's June 30 ruling that upheld birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S., regardless of the immigration status of their parents.

The report consists of more than a dozen insights gleaned from the data, as well as related recommendations for parishes and dioceses that include the need to reduce barriers for individuals interested in exploring Catholicism.

Critics said that a draft of the revised charter reveals "subtle signs that the bishops are backing away from their commitment to survivors and the value of accountability."