Front page

Illinois bishop bars family eulogies, same-day vigils under new funeral policies

Emphasizing stricter adherence to church norms, the change mirrors those several bishops in recent years have made to tighten diocesan policies pertaining to funerals and burials.

Brian Fraga

Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is pictured in a 2022 file photo. (OSV News/Reuters/Marko Djurica)

Vatican

Vatican liturgy chief says Pope Leo will not overturn Latin Mass restrictions

Justin McLellan

Vatican

Pope Leo hints at US trip, reflects on migrant roots in rare interview

Justin McLellan

The Latest

July 30, 2026

Is there a Catholic form of populism?

Michael Sean Winters

July 30, 2026

Anti-trafficking network of nuns, Talitha Kum, reached 1.2M in 2025

Chris Herlinger

July 30, 2026

'A deal with the devil': Religion motivates data center opponents in Texas

Chloe Landen, Ellie Ashby

Editors' Choice

Al Smith, New York governor and Democratic candidate for president, waves during a parade in New York, Nov. 2, 1928. Smith was the first Catholic presidential candidate in a major U.S. political party. (AP)

Opinion

Texas lawmaker introduces bill to protect Mount Cristo Rey from border wall construction

Briley Piper, the only prisoner on South Dakota's death row, could be executed by the end of 2026. The final holding cell for death row prisoners to be executed at the South Dakota State Penitentiary is pictured in 2012. (AP/Amber Hunt)

News

He pleaded guilty to murder. As he awaits execution, Catholic supporters say he's changed.

Camillo Barone

In Focus

As a migrant bishop in Peru, Leo made immigration advocacy a priority in his diocese

As pope, Leo has repeatedly shown himself willing to stick his neck out in defense of migrants. But he spent years confronting his own migration crisis as bishop of the rural diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru.

Justin McLellan

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Opinion

Liam Myers

An AI data center is being built on my grandma's garden

Guest Voices

John Dear

Podcast: John Dear retells the story of the raising of Lazarus

Guest Voices

NCR Staff

Your letters: The SSPX and treatment of transgender issues

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the editor: NCR readers respond to stories about the Priestly Society of St. Pius X and transgender issues in public life.

Michael Sean Winters

What data center protests, Andy Burnham reveal about rebuilding a populism of the left

NCR Voices

John Dear

Podcast: 'Racism has injured us all,' says racial healing leader Catherine Meeks

Guest Voices

In this 2017 file photo, people in New York City carry the U.S. flag. (CNS/Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

Michael Sean Winters

Religious ignorance is as problematic as anti-religious bias

NCR Voices

The Washington Post compiled a list of the 25 most influential works of culture in U.S. history. Perusing the list, you would have no idea that religion has been a consistently important cultural force in the U.S.

Vatican

Vatican liturgy chief says Pope Leo will not overturn Latin Mass restrictions

"Pope Leo is not going to change Traditionis Custodes," said Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in an interview with The Tablet published July 29.

Justin McLellan

Pope Leo hints at US trip, reflects on migrant roots in rare interview

After July 29's "Concert for Peace," NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas asked the pontiff about the importance of being American. "I think of myself more as the pope who happens to be American," he responded.

ByJustin McLellan

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is pictured in a 2024 file photo. (OSV News/Courtesy of Archdiocese of San Francisco)

Vatican News

Pope Leo appoints conservative San Francisco archbishop to Vatican tribunal

As Pope Leo XIV continues to rearrange Vatican personnel, his appointment of San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on July 25 to the microstate's highest court was yet another eye-catching move.

ByJustin McLellan

Smoke rises from a wildfire progressing in Betxi, Spain, July 26, 2026. Firefighters continue to battle massive wildfires in Spain and France that have forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate from their homes. (OSV News photo/Pedro Nunes, Reuters)

Vatican News

Pope prays for victims of deadly wildfires in Spain, France

Pope Leo XIV offered prayers as firefighters continue to battle massive wildfires in Spain and France that have forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate from their homes.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

5 ways to take care of your elders, according to Pope Leo

Apostolic nuncio to UAE and Yemen named Holy See's permanent observer to UN

Andrea Bocelli to sing for Pope Leo with international children's choir

EarthBeat

'A deal with the devil': Religion motivates data center opponents in Texas

Some see the facilities' construction as a sign of the apocalypse, while others see it as an opportunity to advocate for environmental stewardship.

Guest Voices

An AI data center is being built on my grandma's garden

When Liam Myers' grandma sold her house last year, she didn't know it was to an AI data center developer. Now, her grandson wrestles with the loss — and what it means to remember.

ByLiam Myers

Texas lawmaker introduces bill to protect Mount Cristo Rey from border wall construction

The Mount Cristo Rey Protection Act would prevent the federal government from constructing border security infrastructure around the prominent Catholic pilgrimage site overlooking the U.S.-Mexico border.

ByCamillo Barone

Vatican News

Pope prays for victims of deadly wildfires in Spain, France

Pope Leo XIV offered prayers as firefighters continue to battle massive wildfires in Spain and France that have forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate from their homes.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

Venezuelan bishops urge faithful to reject superstitious view of earthquakes

Peru: Historic churches severely damaged following earthquakes

A Franciscan sister journeyed to the Arctic. She found a land teeming with life.

Culture

Book Reviews

New book by feminist theologian takes on clericalism, racism and the work of repair

The Wounded Church develops what Annie Selak describes as a "feminist ecclesiology of injury," an approach that begins with lived experiences of harm rather than idealized visions of what the church ought to be.

George Cassidy Payne

Pop culture’s 'reverent irreverence': Irony, sincerity and religion

The artistic phenomenon of irony collapsing into sincerity is being interpreted by some as a way for younger generations to grapple with ritual, meaning and authenticity, even as participation in organized religion in the United States has dropped dramatically in recent decades.

ByKrysta Fauria, Associated Press, Religion News Service

Matt Damon as Odysseus and Zendaya as Athena appear in a scene from "The Odyssey," by director Christopher Nolan. (OSV News/Universal/Melinda Sue Gordon)

Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' demands we consider the cost of war

Nolan's film is fundamentally about how war changes everyone; when dehumanization and murder is institutionalized, social morals disappear.

ByEmma Cieslik

'Bible in a Year' podcast announces upcoming 'Family Edition' with Black Catholic priest Josh Johnson

A new podcast encouraging biblical literacy for youth is set to launch in 2027 with one of the nation's most prominent young Black Catholic priests.

BySheila Hodges , Black Catholic Messenger

What remains after the World Cup ends

In new documentary, Mario Cuomo is a stark contrast to today's Catholic politicians

Spiritual lessons from World Cup penalty kicks

Public demonstrations led by sisters are part of Talitha Kum's education and public awareness efforts. The sister-led anti-trafficking network operates in 113 countries. (Courtesy of Talitha Kum)

Anti-trafficking network of nuns, Talitha Kum, reached 1.2M in 2025

With expanded prevention, survivor protection, access to justice, advocacy and international partnerships, Talitha Kum said it reached 30% more people last year.

Chris Herlinger

Sr. Anna Huynh Thi Binh receives treatment at Hue Traditional Medicine Hospital on May 23, 2026. (Joachim Pham)

The Latest

Editors' Choice

In Focus

Most Read Stories

#1 5 ways to take care of your elders, according to Pope Leo

#2 Catholic Scouting in US has new name, same adventurous mission

#3 How JD Vance and Bishop Barron reduce Catholicism to philosophy — and what they miss

#4 Replica of the Virgin Mary's house draws Catholic devotees in the Philippines

#5 He pleaded guilty to murder. As he awaits execution, Catholic supporters say he's changed.

#6 SSPX excommunication hasn't stopped Boston church from defying the Vatican

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#1
5 ways to take care of your elders, according to Pope Leo

#2
Catholic Scouting in US has new name, same adventurous mission

#3
How JD Vance and Bishop Barron reduce Catholicism to philosophy — and what they miss

#4
Replica of the Virgin Mary's house draws Catholic devotees in the Philippines

#5
He pleaded guilty to murder. As he awaits execution, Catholic supporters say he's changed.

#6
SSPX excommunication hasn't stopped Boston church from defying the Vatican