American country music star Dolly Parton performs on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm in Somerset, England, during the Glastonbury Festival June 29, 2014. Parton, 80, died Aug. 25, 2026, after a brief battle with cancer. (OSV News/Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

Dolly Parton's talents were singing and acting, but her legacy will be hope

Culture

Dolly Parton's Christianity was radically inclusive, full of love and never took itself too seriously. Michael O'Loughlin looks back on the life and legacy of an American icon.

The Latest

NCR Voices

Will the blue wave sweep the Senate?

Michael Sean Winters

Archbishop urges US to 'rethink' Haiti deportations after mass kidnapping, massacre

Gina Christian, OSV News

Faithful across Honolulu Diocese rally after devastating hurricane

Lisa Dahm / Hawaii Catholic Herald

Editors' Choice

Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly delivers his annual report Aug. 4, 2026, at the 144th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Denver. (OSV News/Denver Catholic/André Escaleira Jr.)

In Focus

Pope Leo places Knights of Columbus leader on Vatican office for laity

Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly will join the Vatican office responsible for engaging with the Catholic laity and families, another high-profile Vatican appointment from the Catholic Church in the U.S.

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Most Read Stories

#1
San Antonio priest laicized, excommunicated after calling Popes Francis and Leo 'usurpers'

A priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio who was "found guilty of schism" has been removed from the clerical state and excommunicated, according to the archbishop of the archdiocese.

BySimone Orendain, OSV News
Portraits of Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of St. Pius X, flank a crucifix in the community room at St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in Farmingville, New York, Feb. 1, 2009. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

#2
Former SSPX member says unity with Catholicism means more than valid ordinations

Louis Massett recounts his formative years and experiences as a young adult immersed in the world of the Society of St. Pius X in the new autobiography Traddyland: The Memoir of a Radical Traditional Catholic.

ByBrian Fraga
The sun sets over the main building and Basilica of the Sacred Heart steeple on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, Nov. 23, 2025. (OSV News/Courtesy University of Notre Dame/Matt Cashore)
Vatican News

#3
Pope Leo names 3 Notre Dame-affiliated experts to advise major Vatican office

The first U.S.-born pope on Tuesday tapped three experts from U.S. institutions to advise the Catholic Church's central office dedicated to promoting social justice. All three are affiliated with the University of Notre Dame.

ByJustin McLellan

#4
They built careers and their own lives. The call to the priesthood came later.

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Women recall behind-the-scenes work for Archbishop Sheen, ahead of beatification

#6
Catholic universities' required theology courses remain timely

Opinion

Will the blue wave sweep the Senate?

NCR Voices

If Pope Leo visits the US, he needs to take his message to Silicon Valley

Guest Voices
Voters cast their ballots on Election Day at the Bald Knob Fire Station in Frankfort, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP/Timothy D. Easley)

The Democratic blue wave is getting taller

NCR Voices

In the midterm, will there be a blue wave that carries the Democrats into the majority in the House and, less likely, the Senate? Michael Sean Winters says that question has morphed into: How big will the blue wave be?

Your letters: Democrats, the word 'conservative' and religious liberty

Letters to the Editor

Notre Dame report on seminary formation clouds gay priests in unjust suspicion

Guest Voices

We should treat foreigners like Jesus did

Guest Voices

"In talking to the Canaanite woman, Jesus sounds like Donald Trump and JD Vance," Thomas Reese writes. 

Vatican

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, attend a news conference following their meeting in Moscow Aug. 25, 2026. (OSV News/Pool via Reuters/Ramil Sitdikov)
Vatican News

'Let us be clear: this war must end,' Archbishop Gallagher tells Russian authorities in Moscow

"The position of the Holy See remains clear: the conflict cannot be resolved by military means," said the Vatican's secretary for relations with states and international organizations.

Pope Leo XIV addresses visitors and pilgrims during his weekly general audience at St. Peter's Basilica on Aug. 26, 2026. (CNS/Vatican Media)
Vatican News

Pope Leo says Vatican II's liturgical reform was 'necessary' for lay involvement

"The participation of the faithful cannot be passive," the pontiff said. "From this conviction arose the need to make the richness of the biblical texts and prayers more accessible to all the faithful."

ByJustin McLellan
Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly delivers his annual report Aug. 4, 2026, at the 144th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Denver. (OSV News/Denver Catholic/André Escaleira Jr.)

Pope Leo places Knights of Columbus leader on Vatican office for laity

Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly will join the Vatican office responsible for engaging with the Catholic laity and families, another high-profile Vatican appointment from the Catholic Church in the U.S.

ByJustin McLellan
Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich baptizes an adult man in the baptismal font of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during Easter Vigil April 4, 2026. (OSV News/Courtesy Archdiocese of Paris/Liam Hoarau)
Vatican News

What will Pope Leo tell France's surging Catholic converts?

The pontiff's comments to people preparing for baptism will suggest where he wants to lead the next generation of Catholics and shape their spirituality.

ByJustin McLellan

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Pope Leo once impersonated a Blues Brother. Now, he's met the real thing.

Vatican News

Pope Leo calls sacred music 'a treasure of profound value'

Vatican News

Catholic culture of love can counter the lies of hatred, power, Pope Leo says

EarthBeat

Faithful across Honolulu Diocese rally after devastating hurricane

As Hurricane Lala barreled across the Hawaiian Islands Aug. 15-16, several Catholic organizations kept close watch over one of the hardest-hit areas — Hawaii Island's Kau district, home to Sacred Heart Church in Naalehu and Holy Rosary Church in Pahala.

Debris lies inside the Cathedral of San Buenaventura in Colombia, Aug. 16, 2026, following the 7.4 magnitude earthquake. (OSV News/Reuters/Ever Andres Mercado)

Desperate after earthquake, Colombia nuns turn to social media to ask for help

After a deadly earthquake left convents and ministry in ruins, women religious in Colombia make pleas for aid on social media.

ByRhina Guidos
Pope Leo XIV leads the Mass for the Care of Creation, in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 9, 2025. (Pool Via AP/Yara Nardi)

Mass for care of creation ready for US churches after Vatican finalizes translations

The Mass for safeguarding the environment that Pope Leo XIV first celebrated last summer is now available for Catholic churches in the U.S., just in time for the upcoming ecumenical Season of Creation.

ByBrian Roewe
A woman prays as people work together to search for their loved ones amid debris in La Guaira, Venezuela, July 20, 2026, following the aftermath of the June 24 earthquakes. (OSV News/Reuters/Gaby Oraa)

Venezuelan archbishop says hope endures as church rebuilds from catastrophic quakes

One priest told Valencia's archbishop: "We cannot go rescue people; we do not have the machinery, and we do not know how to rescue those who might be under the rubble. But we can, and we do know how to console people."

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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Culture

American country music star Dolly Parton performs on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm in Somerset, England, during the Glastonbury Festival June 29, 2014. Parton, 80, died Aug. 25, 2026, after a brief battle with cancer. (OSV News/Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

Dolly Parton's talents were singing and acting, but her legacy will be hope

Dolly Parton's Christianity was radically inclusive, full of love and never took itself too seriously. Michael O'Loughlin looks back on the life and legacy of an American icon.

Fr. Stanley Rother is seen in an image from the documentary "American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story," which is scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide Aug. 25-27. Rother was martyred in 1981 and beatified in 2017. (OSV News/Archdiocese of Oklahoma City)

Review: "American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story"

The documentary, in limited release Aug. 25-27, tells the story of the Oklahoma priest who was martyred in 1981 while serving in Guatemala.

ByJohn Mulderig, OSV News
The Italian tailor Filippo Sorcinelli has worked with three popes over two decades, but the biggest change he's seen has been in himself. (Courtesy of Filippo Sorcinelli/Giovanni DeSimoni)

Meet the master tailor who dresses Pope Leo

Italian designer Filippo Sorcinelli talks with NCR about sacred beauty and creating vestments for three different popes.

ByTulio Huggins
Cam Obi, a music producer and musician who has worked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B, converted to Catholicism at the Easter Vigil. He was baptized at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Courtesy of Cam Obi)

Grammy-winning rap music producer Cam Obi on his conversion to Catholicism

The producer, rapper, husband and father has been on a spiritual journey for several years, culminating in his conversion to Catholicism this year at the Easter Vigil. 

ByNate Tinner-Williams, Black Catholic Messenger

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

In 'The Saviors,' a playwright makes space for questions of faith

Book Reviews

New book explores life of Sr. Sandra Smithson, pioneering Black Catholic nun in Tennessee

'Listen': The Gospel according to Spielberg

Nuns in Mexico support school for Haitian migrants that also serves as a haven

In Tapachula, Mexico, a house serves as a school that offers Spanish classes. The house has also become a gathering place for a community of Haitians.

Debris lies inside the Cathedral of San Buenaventura in Colombia, Aug. 16, 2026, following the 7.4 magnitude earthquake. (OSV News/Reuters/Ever Andres Mercado)

Desperate after earthquake, Colombia nuns turn to social media to ask for help

After a deadly earthquake left convents and ministry in ruins, women religious in Colombia make pleas for aid on social media.

ByRhina Guidos
Pilgrims pray by the tomb of Blessed Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diep at Tac Say Pilgrimage Center in Vietnam's Mekong Delta on July 1, 2026. (OSV News/Joachim Pham)
Columns

John the Baptist: The prophet of truth

"John the Baptist challenges me to live justly and courageously through action, love and humility, as the prophet Micah urged people years ago, and this challenge remains vibrant," writes Sr. Hoa Nguyen.

By
Delegates in canon and civil law from 13 African countries attend the African Conference for Catholic Sisters in Canon and Civil Law held July 30-31 in Nairobi, Kenya. (Wycliff Peter Oundo)

At legal conference, sisters from across Africa discuss safeguarding against abuse

The African Conference for Catholic Sisters in Canon and Civil Law acknowledged that for safeguarding to be inherent in sisters' everyday life, it must be woven into formation and nurtured throughout their vocation.

By

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