Camillo Barone

Phyllis Zagano has spent her academic life pursuing the question: Were women once ordained as deacons, and what does that mean for the church today? She spoke about the "simmering question," as she calls it in her new book.

Ending a nearly 10-month organizing campaign and legal effort, a new arrangement allows pastoral teams to provide spiritual care, prayer and approved sacramental ministry at ICE facilities in the Windy City.

In Minneapolis and St. Paul, fear remains present, service attendance patterns have changed and for some families, the consequences of federal immigration enforcement operations linger.

Jesuit artist Nicholas Leeper's artwork is intentionally provocative, but he describes the project less as an attack on religious imagery than as an invitation to reconsider it.

In an NCR interview, Archbishop Ronald Hicks spoke about his similarities with Pope Leo XIV; internal polarization in the archdiocese; the proposed $800 million abuse settlement; and how he starts with relationships first.

Robert Bernu outlines the beginning of a long and disorienting journey into understanding addiction through his son, David.

As immigration enforcement intensified this winter, Minneapolis organizers and parishioners navigated fear, exhaustion and moral responsibility. The trauma, they said, transformed churches, families and neighborhoods.

The Dignity Act, a bipartisan immigration proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives, is drawing significant backing from Catholic lawmakers, who make up more than half of its current supporters.

"Naming something after an exemplary person has power, has meaning, because naming something is not about just honoring the legacy. It's about inviting others to be inspired by what they did," said Kevin Ahern, chair of the Dorothy Day Guild.

"We hear the calls when people feel alone. We hear the calls when people feel desperate and anxious," said Liz Markuci, director of hotline services at Catholic Charities.

"Humans are really good at creating sacred places for themselves," Vicki Garlock said. "And they do it in all sorts of different ways."

In 2024 a Catholic deacon appealed his excommunication after leaving the church in the aftermath of his son's abuse case. He has spent about two years waiting for a ruling from Rome.

Vatican journalist Salvatore Cernuzio's new book, Padre: An Untold Portrait of Pope Francis, is a narrative built from proximity, trust and the unusual, intimate relationship between its author and the late pope.

The Vatican's influence lies less in direct political power than in its ability to shape moral debate over time, one expert says.

 "One of the most exciting things for me is to be basically on the cutting edge of what it means to be a church in the 21st century," said Fr. Charles Kieffer, vicar for synodality and planning.

Catholic bishops, clergy, religious sisters, congressional representatives, political pundits and foreign heads of state were among those who condemned Trump's statements.

Reports say that Pentagon officials lectured Cardinal Christophe Pierre during a January meeting because of the pope's anti-war comments. Pierre was apostolic nuncio to the U.S.: What does that diplomatic role entail?

A federal judge has ordered immigration authorities to allow the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership and clergy access to an immigration detention center in Broadview, Illinois, during Holy Week.

"We do not gather as 'them' and 'us,' " the prelate said. "It's simply us together, todos, todos, todos, everyone together."

Pope Leo XIV has named a trio of Catholic academics and the head of a church-based center for migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border to be among the new members of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.