NCR Editorial Staff

The pontiff offers something rare: a pastor-leader urging the church to reclaim the dignity of every person — not as an abstract idea, but as the core of its public witness.

The verdict against women deacons is the body of Christ trying to move forward into history with one foot tethered to a Bernini column. No matter how generous the tether, the resultant journey is in endless circles.

The U.S. bishops' statement on immigration may be benign, but it is — at least — a beginning. Our fear is that it will be treated as an end in and of itself. 

U.S. bishops have spent untold millions to influence national politics on abortion, but their response to real terror in our streets and government-driven deprivation of basic needs has been embarrassingly inadequate.

Millions of Americans face an imminent health care crisis. Yet hope is faith in action. And the time for Catholics to act is now.

Prophetic in the truest sense, Dilexi Te is an uncompromising assessment of how wealth and faith in contemporary economic ideologies and markets have misshapen Christianity.

McElroy's message to reject indifference toward indiscriminate, violent deportation arrives with a desperately needed clarity amid the unfortunate clutter of voices on the issue, even within the church.

A full Israeli occupation of Gaza would prolong siege, displacement and famine for Palestinians. For Israelis, it would mean a costly, endless military entanglement, heightened insecurity and deepening political and moral isolation.

 There is a growing perception among Israelis and Jews elsewhere that the IDF's attacks have gone beyond any reasonable justification and undermine any political argument for continuing the war. 

"Alligator Alcatraz" will likely become historical shorthand for President Trump's unmitigated and escalating cruelty. Catholics must denounce this American concentration camp and speak out for the people held there.

Trump prevailed with his domestic policy bill. The House vote was 218-214. And in doing so, he didn't just pass a bill — he marked a turning point in the nation's moral trajectory. This is not reform. It is retribution.

Will the United States uphold the dignity of its most vulnerable citizens, or will it sacrifice them for the benefit of the wealthy and powerful? Where are the U.S. bishops in this moral crisis?

Trump's entry into war with Iran is not merely a policy blunder; it represents a moral failure. We call on Catholics — especially those in leadership — to speak clearly and urgently for Gospel nonviolence.

More Catholic institutions must integrate environmental justice into their operations. Governments must swiftly transition away from fossil fuels. AI must be regulated to safeguard human dignity.

Jesus weeps over this cruelty. So do we.

As 133 cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel to begin voting for a new pope, the church's problems and perplexities remain bigger than the sum of the questions posed in the days since Francis died. 

The history of papal elections is filled with politics, strategy and intrigue. However, we would be naive to imagine that the Holy Spirit is absent from the process, too fragile to endure the rough handling of human hands.

We grieve not just the passing of a pope, but the loss of a holy witness who taught us that to see sacramentally is not to withdraw from the world, but to love it more fiercely.

In the shadow of the cross before us, where our faith calls us to ponder the vulnerable Jesus and the Christ of the marginalized, our government has erected a modern Golgotha for Kilmar Abrego Garcia. 

Holy Week immerses us into the sacred pattern of reality itself. It mirrors our life: a journey marked by love, loss, waiting, surrender and — by grace — resurrection. And what carries us through this journey? Prayer.