A priest is seen in a file photo pouring wine into the chalice during the offertory of the liturgy of the Eucharist as he celebrates morning Mass. (OSV News/Bob Roller)

Restricting the chalice is not tradition — it's a troubling innovation

Opinion

As a few U.S. dioceses restrict access to the precious blood, they are promoting a "newer vision of Catholicism in which restriction of the fuller sign of the Eucharist has come to signify holiness," Karen E. Park writes. 

The Latest

NCR Voices

Will Trump's effort to nationalize the midterm elections work or backfire?

Michael Sean Winters

Monastery makeover: Nuns leave lasting legacy of service in Watertown, SD

May the voices of the young brave prophets of the Amazon finally be heard

Editors' Choice

Flags and flowers are placed in the inscribed names at the National September 11 Memorial in New York on Sept. 10, 2025. (AP/Donald King)

In Focus

Editorial: It's not enough to remember 9/11. We need to recommit to peace.

Some quiet contemplation in our ever-noisy world seems essential to continue processing the attacks and their aftermath, but also as a starting point to consider how we can advocate for peace.

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Most Read Stories

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the Care of Creation on the grounds of the Borgo Laudato Si’ ecology center in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Sept. 1, 2026. (CNS/Vatican Media)

#1
Pope asks Catholics to acknowledge 'unfaithful' attitudes for care of creation

Celebrating a new form of the Catholic Mass "for the care of creation," Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to contemplate nature as well as the ways they have shirked their responsibility to care for it.

ByJustin McLellan
Pope Leo XIV smiles as he leads the Angelus prayer in Piazza della Liberta in Castel Gandolfo near Rome Aug. 30, 2026. (OSV News/Vatican Media)

#2
Pope Leo connects the dots that can unite the church

"Our wonderful pope seems to me to bring the best of our tradition, and the insights of his immediate predecessors, to the Catholics of today, and to make that tradition fresh again," writes NCR's Michael Sean Winters.

ByMichael Sean Winters
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates arrives for a closed-door gathering of leading tech CEOs to discuss artificial intelligence and how it should be regulated, at Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 13, 2023. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
Vatican News

#3
Bill Gates and Silicon Valley congressman latest to endorse pope's AI encyclical

Three months after the release of Pope Leo XIV's encyclical on artificial intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas continues to gain traction among tech leaders and policymakers alike.

ByJustin McLellan

#4
Sociologist Ryan Burge isn't buying media reports that Christianity is flourishing

#5
Popular interest in nuns reveals something deeper about religious life

#6
Stop moving the tabernacle!

Opinion

Will Trump's effort to nationalize the midterm elections work or backfire?

NCR Voices

Editorial: The church still waits to hear a full confession from the hierarchy

Editorial
Brian Fraga poses with his cousin Leah Oliver, who died in the Twin Towers Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy of Brian Fraga)

25 years after 9/11, I still grieve for my cousin Leah

NCR Voices

"It pains me to reflect on how much Leah — who will forever be one day shy of her 25th birthday on this side of eternity — missed out on," writes NCR's Brian Fraga. 

To protect elections and migrants, Catholics must pray, recall history

Columns

To protect elections and migrants, Catholics must pray, recall history

Columns
Gavel, law book and a rosary (Dreamstime/Denys Kovtun)

Fighting (in the courts) over religious liberty is a good thing

NCR Voices

Catholics need to place our constitutional rights within the context of church teachings on life, marriage, family, healthcare, the environment and, most importantly, conscience, writes Michael Sean Winters.

Vatican

Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives at the Vatican Library on the day of his 71st birthday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP/Andrew Medichini)

Pope celebrates his 71st birthday but it's Vatican employees who get the gift

The Vatican has published a papal decree repealing 2021 salary cuts that Pope Francis had imposed on many Vatican employees as part of the Holy See's COVID-19 cost-saving measures.

The Leo Chronicles: A White Sox pope hat for every U.S. seminarian? Leo suggests sending them something else.

The Leo Chronicles: 'Play ball!'

The Leo Chronicles: A White Sox pope hat for every U.S. seminarian? Leo suggests sending them something else.

ByPat Marrin
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sept. 13, 2026. Leo commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in his address. (OSV News/Vatican Media/Matteo Pernaselci)

Pope commemorates 9/11 attacks with prayers for peace and for those who died

Pope Leo XIV, history's first pope from the U.S., called for a renewed commitment to peace on Sunday (Sept. 13) as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on his home country.

ByNicole Winfield, The Associated Press
Cardinal Michael Czerny, then-prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, speaks at a presentation of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” at the Synod Hall at the Vatican May 25, 2026. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

Villanova names Vatican cardinal first recipient of Pope Leo sustainability award

Pope Leo XIV's alma mater has named the former head of the Vatican's social justice office, Cardinal Michael Czerny, as the inaugural recipient of a sustainability award honoring Leo's advocacy on caring for creation.

ByJustin McLellan

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

As Lourdes covers Rupnik mosaics for papal visit, Brazil shrine unveils more

Vatican News

Pope's visit to France likely to attract 1M people, with Mass and vigil in Paris and Lourdes trip

Peruvian city to unveil world's tallest statue of Pope Leo for trip to South America

EarthBeat

Cardinal Michael Czerny, then-prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, speaks at a presentation of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” at the Synod Hall at the Vatican May 25, 2026. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

Villanova names Vatican cardinal first recipient of Pope Leo sustainability award

Pope Leo XIV's alma mater has named the former head of the Vatican's social justice office, Cardinal Michael Czerny, as the inaugural recipient of a sustainability award honoring Leo's advocacy on caring for creation.

A rickshaw driver washes his face at a roadside water pipeline during a heat wave in Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 27, 2024. (Dreamstime/Mamunur Rashid)

Global warming set to surpass key 1.5 C climate limit by 2030, UN report finds

"Every fraction of a degree still matters": Catholic groups say the U.N. report must not become reason to give up, but instead compel a redoubling of moral pressure on world leaders to rapidly phase out fossil fuels.

ByBrian Roewe
Nazareth Sr. Jincemol Chacko, chief therapist of the Nazareth Nature Cure Centre, conducts a yoga session for the participants. (Thomas Scaria)

Nazareth sisters promote holistic healing with nature

More than 10,000 people have achieved holistic recovery at the Nazareth Nature Care Centre in Kunnoth, India, over the past nearly four decades. 

ByThomas Scaria
Bubbles underwater with sun shining through (Unsplash/Jong Marshes)
Guest Voices

During the Season of Creation, remember the living water that sustains all life

That water is a symbol of healing and renewal makes a lot of sense. Most of our human bodies are made up of water, and all other creatures also require water for survival. But we humans can take water for granted.

ByDaniel P. Horan

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Nepal floods leave 'nothing' behind as Catholic nuns mobilize aid

Vatican body develops concept of 'ecological sin' in spiritual salvo on the environment

Wendell Berry, writer and farmer, was extolled by many as a modern-day prophet

Culture

Stephen Root, Matthew Rhys and Kate O'Flynn star in Apple TV's "Widow's Bay." In its first season, the mayor of a small town on a remote New England island hopes to turn his community into a tourist destination. But an ancient curse stands in the way. (Apple TV)

With 19 Emmy nods, 'Widow's Bay' gets the link between terror and togetherness

Apple TV's series is among the most critically acclaimed television shows of the year. Rebecca Bratten Weiss says Catholics could learn a few things from it.

Tom Hollander as Treasurer Hales, Woody Norman as King Richard II and Katherine Waterston as The Countess interact in director Paul Greengrass' "The Uprising," which opens in theaters Sept. 11.(Focus Features/Betina La Plante)

Does 'The Uprising' really want us to rise up?

The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 can inspire us to confront the problem of wealth disparity today. So why does Paul Greengrass' new movie feel more like a warning?

ByRobbie Wessel Kroeschell
Andrew Garfield, shown arriving at the premiere of "The Uprising" on Sept. 2, 2026, has described feeling a "spiritual urgency" when choosing roles and has a reputation for gravitating toward characters with deep religious conviction. (AP/Invision/Jordan Strauss)

The insatiable spirituality of Andrew Garfield, star of 'The Uprising'

The actor finds God in all things — and can't seem to turn down a project that lets him find more. Here he plays Ploughman, the nameless everyman who becomes an unlikely leader of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

ByShannon Evans O'Brien
Pews with hymnals (Unsplash/Gianna B)

Why Black Catholic musicians should study Gregorian chant

Darrell St. Romain, a scholar and organist, reflects on studying Gregorian chant and its potential to enrich Black Catholic worship.

ByDarrell Anthony St. Romain, Black Catholic Messenger

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

New book illuminates true barrier to women's diaconate

In the land of the lost, get directions from Catholics who are 'Flipping the Tables'

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

The heads of women's religious orders leave an audience with Pope Francis in Paul VI hall at the Vatican May 12, 2016. During the session with members of the International Union of Superiors General, sisters asked Francis about the possibility of women deacons returning to the church. (CNS/Paul Haring)

Discerning Deacons plans forums for Catholic sisters on women in the diaconate

Discerning Deacons is planning more than 50 virtual forums to engage Catholics in the discernment about women in the diaconate, two of which are specific to Catholic sisters.

Bishop Adalberto Jiménez, apostolic vicariate of Aguarico, Ecuador, carries a cross on a pilgrimage from Quito to Coca, Ecuador, in honor of Bishop Alejandro Labaka Ugarte and Sr. Inés Arango Velásque. (Courtesy of Sr. Winifred Doherty)
Columns

May the voices of the young brave prophets of the Amazon finally be heard

Many youth joined the pilgrimage from Quito to Coca, Ecuador, in honor of Bishop Alejandro Labaka Ugarte and Sr. Inés Arango Velásquez, two Capuchin missionaries who were killed in the Amazon.

By
Sr. Ida Hericks, 91, stands for a photo on the Harmony Hill campus on June 10, 2026, in Watertown, S.D. (South Dakota News Watch/Bart Pfankuch)

Monastery makeover: Nuns leave lasting legacy of service in Watertown, SD

The Benedictine Sisters of Mother of God Monastery are transforming 500 acres of hilly prairie land in South Dakota where they reside into a multifaceted, multigenerational community project. 

By
Sr. Francine Katho of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, ministers to patients with Ebola. (Courtesy of Francine Katho)

Q&A with Sr. Francine Katho, risking her life and safety to fight the Ebola virus

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Katho dons personal protective equipment each morning, a stark reminder of the deadly stakes for both her patients and her fellow healthcare workers.

By

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LA nun champions second chances for those rebuilding their lives after prison

What can Abraham teach us about discerning God's will?

Sisters support Nigerian girls escaping domestic servitude and child labor