Advocates of same-sex marriage cheer during a rally outside the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco Feb. 7 moments before hearing the court's decision on Proposition 8. By a 2-1 vote, a three-judge panel struck down the California ban on same-sex marriage, saying that it violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (CNS/Reuters/Beck Diefenbach)

US Catholics support progressive policies on 'culture war' issues, new study finds

News

Majorities of U.S. Catholics support progressive policies on issues such as abortion and gay marriage, according to a new Pew survey. Still, twice as many Catholics describe themselves as conservative than identify as liberal.

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Hand showing an illustration of human lungs (Dreamstime/transurfer343)

In Focus

Q&A: Lung doctor who worked in the hospital now treating Pope Francis explains his illness

Pope Francis was in pain, swollen and walking very little. Italian pulmonologist Dr. Barbara Moscatelli says that this is common in elderly patients who share the pontiff's lung illness.

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Nuns pray next to the statue of St. John Paul II outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital Feb. 20, 2025, where Pope Francis is admitted for treatment for a respiratory infection. The Vatican press office said early Feb. 20 that the pope had a peaceful night, "got up and had breakfast in an armchair." (OSV News photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters)
Vatican News

#1
Pope's doctors say Francis not in danger of death, cardinals push back against resignation rumors

Pope Francis' doctors believe the 88-year-old pontiff is not in danger of death at the moment, but that the therapy for his double pneumonia needs time to work and will require at least another week of hospitalization. 

ByChristopher White
Pope Francis holds his spring meeting with the officers of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops April 18, 2024, at the Vatican. Seated from left are: Fr. Michael J.K. Fuller, the conference's general secretary; Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, vice president; Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services; and Fr. Paul B.R. Hartmann, associate general secretary. (CNS/Vatican Media)
NCR Voices

#2
While refuting JD Vance's hillbilly theology, Pope Francis chastises US bishops

It is not every day that the pope publicly scolds a group of bishops. Those unfamiliar with papal texts can be forgiven for thinking Pope Francis' letter to the U.S. bishops was one of encouragement. It wasn't.

ByMichael Sean Winters
Hand showing an illustration of human lungs (Dreamstime/transurfer343)
Vatican News

#3
Q&A: Lung doctor who worked in the hospital now treating Pope Francis explains his illness

Pope Francis was in pain, swollen and walking very little. Italian pulmonologist Dr. Barbara Moscatelli says that this is common in elderly patients who share the pontiff's lung illness.

ByCamillo Barone

#4
Catholic universities scrambling amid Trump's diversity crackdown

#5
Pope Francis receives oxygen, blood transfusion, Vatican says

#6
Word extinguished: Bishop Barron's digital silence

Opinion

Trump's chaos is not conservatism

NCR Voices

While Trump hires Catholics, his actions reflect nothing of Catholic social teaching

Guest Voices
From left, family members Bernadette Semple (in the background), Toni Ann Semple and Denise Semple pray during Mass Sept. 3, 2023, at St. Peter Claver Church in St. Inigoes, Md. The Mass closed the Southern Maryland GU272 — Jesuit Enslaved Descendant Gathering Aug. 31-Sept. 3. (OSV News/Catholic Standard/ Mihoko Owada)

The Catholic Church has played a shameful role in Black American history

Guest Voices

This Black History Month, we must turn our attention to the harmful part played by the U.S. Catholic Church, in actions, rhetoric and silence, from slavery to segregation to Trump 2.0.

The Beatitudes call us to radical compassion, says Joan Chittister

Guest Voices

On anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Trump brings shame to America

NCR Voices
A bilingual voting sign is seen at St. Patrick Church polling station in Norcross, Ga., on Election Day 2020. (OSV News/The Georgia Bulletin/Michael Alexander)

US Catholics' political attitudes: It's complicated (but hopeful)

Guest Voices

As important as elections are, it's critical that leaders and other reflective Catholics pause and consider how these votes are rooted (or not) in broader Catholic principles.

Vatican

The child of a Venezuelan migrant peers from a tent at an encampment set up by migrants in a park near the main bus terminal in Bogotá, Colombia, June 3, 2020. Staff layoffs following the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid in early 2025 have hit hardest so far in Colombia, where Jesuit Refugee Service assists Venezuelan refugees and others in accessing asylum to stay in that country. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Vatican News

This Lent, compare your life to a migrant's, pope says

Pope Francis urged Christians to examine their consciences in Lent by comparing their daily lives to the hardships faced by migrants, calling it a way to grow in empathy and discover God's call to compassion.

A man holds his phone displaying an image of Pope Francis as he joins Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, in reciting the rosary for the pope in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Feb. 24, 2025. Cardinals living in Rome, leaders of the Roman Curia and the faithful joined the nighttime prayer. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)
Vatican News

Pope Francis' condition critical but stable as hospitalization continues

Pope Francis remains in critical condition, but is "stable" as the 88-year-old pontiff continues his nearly two-week long hospitalization for double pneumonia. 

ByChristopher White
People join in reciting the rosary for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Feb. 24, 2025.
Vatican News

Faithful unite in St. Peter's Square praying for pope's health

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, led a recitation of the rosary for Pope Francis on the 11th day of his hospitalization for double pneumonia. About 27 cardinals living in Rome and dozens of members of the Roman Curia joined the prayers.

ByCarol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Francis, the comic strip: The papal assistants visit the boss in the hospital.
Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip: Don't be afraid, even in the hospital

Francis, the comic strip: The papal assistants visit the boss in the hospital.

ByPat Marrin

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vatican News

Pope Francis still in critical state but slightly improving

Vatican News

Visiting the poor in Lebanon was a prayer for Pope Francis, cardinal says

Vatican News

Pope in good spirits; Vatican to host rosary for him in St. Peter's Square

A woman pushes a shopping cart full of coolers and cold beverages during a summer heatwave in New York City July 11, 2024. Seventeen U.S. states set annual heat records in 2024, the hottest year to date. (OSV News/Reuters/Caitlin Ochs)
Politics

Will climate goals survive dismantling of Biden-era green initiatives?

Among President Trump's more than 70 executive orders since the beginning of his second term are those involving withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the freezing of "clean energy" project funds in the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. 

Ophioglossum
Viewpoints

Discovering an environmental imagination in unexpected places

The French documentary 7 Walks with Mark Brown, filmed by Pierre Creton and Vincent Barré, helped me realize the whole world is charged with the grandeur of God, not just the parts that stand out or look nice.

ByJim McDermott
Sebastian Gollnow / Picture Alliance via Getty Images via Grist
Politics

Trump's attack on paper straws is mostly symbolic — but the plastics industry is celebrating

Plastic straws have become an international emblem of the harms of plastic pollution, and Trump's order is the latest salvo in a culture war that pits care for the environment against values like masculinity and freedom.

ByJoseph Winters, Grist
A group of young people shovel soil around base of newly planted tree.
Politics

Faith groups' environmental projects halted by Trump's climate funding freeze

More than 300 faith communities have lost access to grant funds that were intended to plant trees in disadvantaged urban communities, environmental faith leaders who managed the grants told RNS.

ByAleja Hertzler-McCain, Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Justice

Catholics in Nigeria say Shell can't divest contaminated oil sites before cleanup

Justice

'Martyr of the Amazon': Recalling Sr. Dorothy Stang's ministry 20 years after her murder

Justice

Loyola Marymount environment conference caught in Trump's DEI crackdown

Culture

Supporters of persons arrested a week earlier in an attempted raid on a Selective Service office greet those arrested at a court hearing in Camden, New Jersey, on Aug. 30, 1971. Those arrested were brought from a New Jersey jail in handcuffs. Among them is John Grady, right, handcuffed, wearing black. They became known as the "Camden 28." (AP photo/Bill Ingraham)
Book Reviews

Book paints the Camden 28 as 'Spiritual Criminals.' But were their actions effective?

A book like Spiritual Criminals has the potential to offer a significant contribution to U.S. Catholics' understanding of our history and provide inspiration for political activism today. 

The New York City-based Catholic musician Meredith Augustin will perform several liturgies, lead the Taizé Prayer and sing at a workshop at the 2025 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. (Karen Lindell)

At LA Congress, musician Meredith Augustin brings inclusive, contemplative ethos

The New York City-based Catholic musician Meredith Augustin will perform several liturgies, lead the Taizé Prayer and sing at a workshop at this week's Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.

ByKaren Lindell
The front of church with bell tower and tiled roof.

Basilicas, churches and shrines across US are Jubilee 2025 pilgrimage sites

Across the country, basilicas, churches and shrines have begun opening their doors to local pilgrims. These sites each have a unique history and hold significance in their local region, helping Catholics to encounter God in new ways.

ByJack Figge, OSV News
Sky Yang in "Last Days," a dramatic retelling of the life of missionary John Allen Chau who was killed in 2018 while proselytizing the inhabitants of a North Sentinel Island tribe. (Sundance Institute/Tanasak "Top" Boonlam)

'Last Days' is a cautionary tale of evangelism — and screenwriting — gone wrong

By trying to be "all things to all people" — wanting to both affirm murdered missionary John Chau's humanity and criticize the cocktail of motivations that drove him — "Last Days" turns an interesting story tepid.

ByZachary Lee

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The new trend in must-see TV is … pastoral care?

Book Reviews

Pope Francis reveals some secrets — and keeps many others — in new memoir

Book Reviews

Catholic clergy abuse survivor details his story in tender new book

The northern lights appear over the Carmelite monastery located in Hafnarfjördur, Iceland. (Courtesy of Carmelite nuns of Hafnarfjordur)

Iceland's Carmelite community challenged by earthquakes, harsh environment

The small community at Hafnarfjordur, which consists of 14 sisters with three in formation, has been met with support from native Icelanders who respect the Carmelites' spirituality and believe it brings harmony to their island. 

The sister smiles at camera embracing woman who leans into her arms.

Amid darkness of Ukraine war, religious sisters bring light, hope and purpose to villages

As the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine reached a tragic threshold of three years Feb. 24, religious sisters are bringing rays of sunshine to those who don't know how to smile anymore, including children whose carefree childhood disappeared, and farmers, whose fields are mined and useless.

ByOSV News
Two kittens sit on cat tree.
Columns

How my kittens teach me to 'paws' and reflect

It's been nearly two years since kittens Snowdrop and Stardust joined the household, and what an adventure it has been. The lessons they are teaching me are multiple.

By
Sr. ElmaMary Ekewuba, Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state in Nigeria, offers hope and healing to Nigerians living with mental health issues. (Ayo Omotola)

Q&A with Sr. ElmaMary Ekewuba, addressing mental health amid poverty in Nigeria

Sr. ElmaMary Ekewuba of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul has dedicated 36 years of her life to a mission of compassion. Today, she and her team offer hope and healing to Nigerians with mental health issues.

ByAyo Omotola

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Nurse sisters create a safe space for mothers, kids at Bethlehem hospital

The existence of billionaires is immoral

Q&A with Sr. Janefrances Ihekuna, providing health care in Nigeria's waterfront communities

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