Following are NCR reader responses to recent news articles, opinion columns and theological essays with letters that have been edited for length and clarity.
Limits of dialogue
Mr. Haveloch-Jones speaks sympathetically about the SSPX and appears to suggest dialog and empathy would bring about a desirable reconciliation (NCR, July 1, 2026). The problem, as I see it, is the desire for dialog needs to be mutual and the task bilateral. One can not conduct a conversation with oneself.
Pope Leo XIV offered dialog and suggested the society desist from consecrating new bishops.
At this point the church needs to assert whether the magisterium of the Second Vatican Council is in fact the governing opus of the church or if the faithful are free to interpret church teachings in their own way. If the latter is the choice the cohesion of the Body of Christ is in jeopardy.
Horrific as this scenario appears it is essential to maintain the credibility of the Church and to maintain as well the fealty of the vast majority of the faithful to the Pope and the leaders of our Church.
CHARLES LE GUERN
Mount Holly, North Carolina
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SSPX
I am writing to share some reflections regarding the differing visions within the Church today, specifically concerning the SSPX in contrast to the spirit of Vatican II (NCR, July 14, 2026).
It seems that the vision held by the SSPX remains static and turned in upon itself, judging everything through the light of the past. In contrast, the fathers of Vatican II presented a dynamic vision — one that encounters the modern world with the message of Christ and moves forward, impelled by the Spirit, to bring his light to all.
Furthermore, the society appears to fear synodality, viewing it as a challenge to their secure beliefs. However, the church of Vatican II sees synodality as the very vehicle through which the Holy Spirit leads us into the fullness of truth. While we recognize the plea of a pastor desiring to unite his flock and the importance of personal freedom, we are ultimately guided by the Spirit to "move on."
EDWARD HEARN
Middletown, New York
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Christian witness
Reading "The Society of St. Pius X shows itself out the door" (NCR, July 6, 2026) alongside your Global Sisters Report piece "For migrant children facing deportation alone in court, a Catholic nun shows up" gave me a jarring, clarifying moment of contrast (GSR, July 6, 2026).
In one story, we have new bishops of the SSPX, vested in lace and white shoes, consecrated outside the Church’s unity, asserting their own vision of what Catholicism should look like. In the other, we have Sr. Rose Kuhn, IHM, quietly sitting beside migrant children in McAllen, Texas, who have no one else to stand with them in court.
One group has put on ceremonial finery. The other has put on the Gospel.
I don't say this to be glib. Vestments and tradition have their place. But when I set these two stories side by side, I see one community absorbed in questions of legitimacy, lineage, and liturgical purity, and another simply doing what Christ asked: welcoming the stranger, defending the defenseless, showing up for the child no one else will sit beside.
The Society of St. Pius X seems, to me, to be living out a fantasy of what the Church should be. Sister Kuhn is living out the Church’s actual mission.
I know where I stand. I'm with Kuhn — not because her habit is simpler, but because her witness is undeniably clear. If the Gospel means anything, it means showing up. She showed up.
ERIC NYGREN
Chicago, Illinois
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Transgender information
NCR's decision to continue publishing Michael Sean Winters' anti-transgender commentaries is nearing the point not only of failing the publication's stated pro-LGBTQ+ commitments, but falling into journalistic malpractice. Publications should indeed offer differing viewpoints, but they must be rooted in accuracy and facts. Winters' piece "Why the Dems need to bring common sense to the culture wars" (NCR, June 11, 2026) is replete with disproven anti-trans apologia more befitting of right wing podcasts. His claim that women and girls are endangered by transgender people is false; the evidence is that broadened nondiscrimination protections benefit the safety of all genders. Winters displays almost no knowledge of how gender-affirming healthcare to youth is provided. His claim that trans advocacy is a dictatorial, deep-pocketed lobby is at once offensive and laughable.
In our age of disinformation, the truth matters. Even in op-eds, NCR owes its readers factual information, not anti-transgender hallucinations. Winters can follow the example of our beloved Pope Francis. In 2024, I joined New Ways Ministry's private audience with him, alongside transgender and intersex Catholics, their family, and a doctor who cares for trans youth. The pope listened attentively to their stories, asked questions with the heart of a pastor, and was open to being educated. I humbly suggest NCR's editors do likewise before they publish a future installment of anti-trans mythology.
ROBERT SHINE
Boston, Massachusetts
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