Madeleine Davison

Many Catholics are expressing anger, disappointment and confusion about the U.S. bishops' vote to approve plans to draft a document on pro-choice politicians and Communion, according to an email survey of NCR readers and members.

While the #MeToo movement and campaigns worldwide have raised awareness of sexual harassment and abuse, structures that harm women, children and marginalized people must be dismantled to end gender-based violence, advocates said.

Pope Francis praised Jesuit Fr. James Martin's work with LGBTQ people, saying his ministry seeks to "imitate the style of God" in a handwritten letter sent to Martin ahead of a June 26 conference on Catholic LGBTQ outreach.

An increasing number of U.S. Catholic colleges and universities have required students to get the COVID-19 vaccine before returning to campus. But some major Catholic institutions have not, including the Catholic University of America.

Jesuit Fr. James Martin's life and work as one of the best-known Catholic advocates for LGBTQ dignity is the subject of a new documentary, "Building a Bridge," which debuted June 15 at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Are police and prisons really necessary? For some abolition activists, the desire to abolish police and prisons comes from their Christian faith and a belief that no one is disposable.

Justice Reimagined: If, as prison abolitionists believe, the system is working as planned to prop up racism and oppression, then it can't just be reformed — it needs to be abolished and replaced with something else.

Hundreds of thousands of people every year are swallowed up by the U.S. system of mass incarceration, which many fighting for Black liberation and against white supremacy view as both a symptom and a driver of racism.

United States is like a large family of mixed immigration status, panelists in a virtual discussion on May 25 said. And Catholics need to do more to combat racism and defend the dignity of immigrants.

An international group of theologians and scholars released an academic statement alleging inconsistencies in the Vatican's arguments against same-sex relationships, and urging the church to review its stance.

An online panel hosted by Georgetown discussed the involvement of the Jesuits and the church in slavery, and the Jesuits' efforts to make amends, but did not directly address critiques raised by some descendants.

White leadership, diocesan neglect and the church's long history of systemic racism make it more difficult for Black Catholic victims of clergy sex abuse to speak up or get justice, panelists said.

An April 8 panel hosted by the University of Notre Dame's Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies discussed escalating racist violence against Asian American people in the United States, emphasizing it is not without deep history.

Redemptorist Fr. Marcel Okwara said racism and police brutality need to be an ongoing conversation for Catholics. Okwara and Redemptionist Fr. John Schmidt of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, talk to NCR about the April 11 police killing of Daunte Wright.

More than 3,000 Catholic theologians, clergy, laypeople and organizations have pledged to support LGBTQ couples in the face of the Vatican decree banning priests from blessing same-sex unions.

A bishop, an archbishop and several Catholic groups and leaders released a letter March 31 with the Human Rights Campaign condemning discrimination and violence against transgender people and affirming their dignity.

Responding to a March 15 Vatican decree banning priests from blessing gay unions on the premise that God "cannot bless sin," LGBTQ Catholic couples and advocates talked to NCR about their reality.

Reacting to a recent Pew study, panelists talk about why there is an exodus of Black people from the U.S. Catholic Church.

Messages from Jim Forest and Kathy Kelly urged virtual attendees at the annual gathering, sponsored by the Coalition for Peace Action and the Sacred Heart Peace Community, to persevere in the work for justice.

Panelists discussed how the criminal legal system disproportionately harms Black women, and proposed looking for alternatives to incarceration that balance accountability with forgiveness and dignity.