Heidi Schlumpf

Heidi Schlumpf is NCR senior correspondent. Her email address is hschlumpf@ncronline.org. Follow her on Twitter: @HeidiSchlumpf.

Schlumpf was previously NCR's executive editor and a national correspondent. As national correspondent, Schlumpf did in-depth coverage on the influence of money in the church, sex abuse, politics, women's issues, racism and young people in the church. Her work has included investigations into Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) and popular Catholic author Matthew Kelly. She previously wrote an opinion column for NCR for almost a decade.

Schlumpf has three decades of experience covering religion, spirituality, social justice and women's issues, having previously served as managing editor of U.S. Catholic magazine and as a reporter at Chicago's archdiocesan newspaper and secular newspapers in California and Wisconsin. Her work has been published by CNN Opinion, Sojourners and Huffington Post. She taught journalism as an associate professor of communication at Aurora University in Illinois.

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she also earned a master's of theological studies from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University, where she studied with feminist theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether.

She is the author/editor of three books, including Elizabeth A. Johnson: Questing for God (Liturgical Press, 2016), the Notre Dame Book of Prayer (Ave Maria, 2010) and While We Wait: Spiritual & Practical Advice for Those Trying to Adopt (ACTA, 2009).

Schlumpf is based in Chicago, where she lives with her husband, Edmund, and their two children, and where she is a member of St. Gertrude Parish.

By this Author

A woman walks past a mural of Pope Francis on a wall surrounding a church in Baghdad Feb. 22. (CNS/Reuters/Khalid al-Mousily)

NCR's Joshua McElwee is Iraq-bound with Pope Francis

NCR Connections: When Pope Francis travels to Iraq March 5-8, it will be the first coverage of a papal trip Heidi Schlumpf will oversee as editor — but not the first one for Vatican correspondent Joshua McElwee.

The sanctuary of St. Albert the Great Church in Austin, Texas, is seen Feb. 16, 2021. An overhead sprinkler burst during the historic winter storm that hit the state and dumped 10,000 gallons of water into the sanctuary. (CNS/Catholic Spirit/Fr. Charlie G

The Francis Effect podcast: Texas infrastructure, faith-based initiatives office and Fr. Jim McDermott

Listen: In this episode, hosts talk about the recent effects of winter storms on Texas and the re-establishment of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships by the Biden administration. Plus, a discussion with Jesuit Fr. Jim McDermott.

Worshippers wearing protective masks because of COVID-19 receive ashes sprinkled over their heads during Ash Wednesday Mass at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Manila, Philippines, Feb. 26, 2020. (CNS/Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)

Let's give up culture war infighting for Lent

NCR Connections: Like everything else in this pandemic year, Ash Wednesday will not be the same.

(Unsplash/Ahna Ziegler)

The Francis Effect podcast: Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Lent, and what we're watching

Listen: In this episode, hosts discuss Sr. Nathalie Becquart's recent appointment, how they are preparing for Lent, and what they are doing these days for distractions.

President Joe Biden and family members enter Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington Jan. 24. (CNS/Reuters/Erin Scott)

Liberal Catholicism: We've been here all along

NCR Connections: When you see opinion polls, you can't say that U.S. Catholics who are progressive have been "suppressed." But now one of the most public faces of Catholicism in this country will match those majorities.

President Joe Biden leaves with first lady Jill Biden after his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 20, 2021. (CNS/Reuters pool/Jonathan Ernst)

The Francis Effect podcast: Inauguration, dueling bishop declarations, and the 1776 Commission

Listen: In this episode, hosts explore the subtle Catholicism of the Biden inauguration, the back-and-forth between Archbishop José Gomez and Cardinal Blase Cupich, and the brief but ominous life of the 1776 Report.

A President Donald Trump supporter breaks a window at the U.S. Capitol in Washington Jan. 6, 2021. (CNS/Reuters/Leah Millis)

How Catholic media should cover Biden

NCR Connections: As we move into a presidential administration that does not disparage — or openly threaten — the media, our job remains to tell the truth, uncover what may be hidden and hold the powerful accountable.

A unit of the D.C. National Guard bolster the security presence around the U.S. Capitol Jan. 7 in Washington, one day after supporters of President Donald Trump breached the building. (CNS/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)

The Francis Effect podcast, bonus episode: Attack on the Capitol

Listen: In this bonus episode of "The Francis Effect," NCR executive editor Heidi Schlumpf, Franciscan Fr. Dan Horan, David Dault process the attack on the Capitol and the rhetoric that led to this.

A used protective face mask litters the North Lawn Driveway at the White House in Washington Nov. 4. (CNS/Reuters/Tom Brenner)

2020: A year like no other

NCR Connections: Coronavirus, the politicizing of coronavirus, heightened focus on police brutality, Black Lives Matter reaching flood stage, Pope Francis' Fratelli Tutti, an election for "the soul of the nation" — we look back on a year of sacrifice and reckoning.

A pharmacist undergoes training in preparation for the distribution of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine at a Mount Sinai Health System pharmacy in the Queens borough of New York City in this handout photo released Dec. 10. (CNS/Mount Sinai Health System via

The Francis Effect podcast: COVID-19 vaccine, 'wafer wars' and Christmas

Listen: This episode of "The Francis Effect" podcast features discussion about the new COVID-19 vaccine, the rift among bishops concerning President-elect Joe Biden, and the joy of the Christmas season.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, records his address Nov. 12 to be delivered to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' fall meeting Nov. 16, the first day of the two-day virtual meeting. The address was recorded in th

The media is not the church's enemy

NCR Connections: The bishops, collectively at least, also have a history of blaming the media, most notably when journalists uncovered sexual abuse of children and the related coverup by bishops.

(Unsplash/Michel Stockman)

The Francis Effect podcast: Advent, US bishops' meeting and martyrs of El Salvador

Listen: This episode of "The Francis Effect" podcast includes talk of some last-minute surprises from the bishops, the grassroots nature of sainthood, and why this year it might be OK to put up your tree as early as you want.

(Unsplash/Abbasali Fendereski)

Setting the record straight on NCR and McCarrick coverage

NCR Connections: As NCR editor, I can assure you that my job is to pursue the truth, not "sell the news." And in the journalistic ethical tradition, we protect sources from the powerful, not the powerful themselves.

People near a statue of Ella Fitzgerald in Yonkers, New York, Nov. 17 (CNS/Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

The Francis Effect podcast: after the election, before a vaccine

The Francis Effect podcast: Election fallout, the McCarrick report, and the promise of a COVID-19 vaccine

Tom Fox at his desk in 2018 (NCR photo/Toni-Ann Ortiz)

A lifelong example of the kind of journalist we need

NCR Connections: Throughout his career, Tom Fox has never been afraid to write, publish or defend the tough story. We at NCR aspire to live up to his lifelong example as he retires — for the third time.

An election sign is seen in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington Oct. 27. (CNS/Tyler Orsburn)

The Francis Effect podcast: 2020 Elections, and Francis' remarks on civil unions

Listen: NCR's Heidi Schlumpf has joined "The Francis Effect" podcast for its new season as a co-host with Franciscan Fr. Dan Horan and David Dault. The podcast is available on NCR's site and various podcast apps.

People are seen at an early voting site in Fairfax, Virginia, Sept. 18. (CNS/Reuters/Al Drago)

Asking for a friend: Can a Catholic vote for Biden?

NCR Connections: As a friendly reminder — and for suggested sharing — we offer this roundup of recent helpful articles and columns that counter the narrative that to be Catholic means you must vote Republican and for Donald Trump.

Residents of San Diego drive up to drop off their mail-in ballots at the offices of the Registrar of Voters for San Diego County Oct. 19. (CNS/Reuters/Mike Blake)

The Francis Effect podcast: Election update, Michigan militias and 'Fratelli Tutti'

Listen: NCR's Heidi Schlumpf has joined "The Francis Effect" podcast for its new season as a co-host with Franciscan Fr. Dan Horan and David Dault. The podcast is available on NCR's site and various podcast apps.

The Francis Effect podcast: Open SCOTUS seat, Trump's taxes and Fr. Flannery

Listen: NCR's Heidi Schlumpf has joined "The Francis Effect" podcast for its new season as a co-host with Franciscan Fr. Dan Horan and David Dault. The podcast will be available on NCR's site and various podcast apps.

Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, weeps during a Sept. 15 news conference announcing a $12 million civil settlement between the Taylor's estate and the city of Louisville, Kentucky. (CNS/Reuters/Bryan Woolston)

The Francis Effect podcast: Baptism, the Breonna Taylor settlement and Mass in Milwaukee

Listen: NCR's Heidi Schlumpf has joined "The Francis Effect" podcast for its new season as a co-host with Franciscan Fr. Dan Horan and David Dault. The podcast is available on NCR's site and various podcast apps.

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