Heidi Schlumpf

"The Francis Effect": NCR senior correspondent Heidi Schlumpf, columnist Daniel Horan and David Dault discuss the implications of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks for vulnerable populations. 

Election results indicate shifts among Catholics overall, especially white Catholics, as well as with Latino voters – and point to abortion's growing insignificance as a political issue. 

The synod concluded without movement on the question of women deacons, but kept the issue open. That was frustrating to advocates but also has helped some remain hopeful.

While amendments to expand abortion access passed in seven states this election season, the three outlier states where they did not were all places where Catholic groups had funneled millions of dollars to defeat the measures. 

In this episode of "The Francis Effect," Heidi, Dan and David welcome their guests, Fr. Bryan Massingale and Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell, to look at the 2024 election and consider: Where do we go from here?

Politicians running for the University of Nebraska board of regents are the unlikely middlemen in a multimillion-dollar ballot initiative fight in Nebraska.

Many Catholic organizations have ramped up spending on campaigns against abortion-rights measures this election, with at least $1.9 million in donations so far, according to a joint investigation by NCR and Mother Jones.

Catholic voters must negotiate a balance between what the church teaches and how their other values contribute to their voting decisions. Nowhere is that more evident than around the issue of legalized abortion.

In a speech to the ecumenical Kentucky Council of Churches, Catholic Bishop John Stowe of Lexington urged pastors to speak out against Christian nationalism and fight it with love.

Listen: Heidi, Daniel and David talk about the role of U.S. Catholic voters, and look at the concluding weeks of the synod, including an interview with Loyola Chicago's Michael Canaris, just back from Rome.

In the first poll focused exclusively on Catholics in swing states, NCR found that voters saw the economy as the most important issue and, somewhat surprisingly, supported their candidate, Trump or Harris, for reasons that contradicted church teaching on immigration or abortion.

Listen: Heidi, Daniel and David talk about the hurricanes devastating the southeastern U.S.; Daniel discusses his recent announcement; and Heidi interviews Massimo Faggioli about the meeting of the synod in Rome.

Harris' campaign has used identity-based groups to raise money and enthusiasm in a way no other candidate has, and that has included Catholic outreach. Here are some notable Catholic-connected groups supporting her.

The candidate who called himself the "best [president] in the history of the Catholic Church" during the 2020 campaign once again has the support of several Catholic-associated groups. Here are some of the most notable.

The church can hear the stories of women who have chosen to follow their call to the priesthood through ordination, thanks to the new book Women Called to Catholic Priesthood: From Ecclesial Challenge to Spiritual Renewal.

Listen: Heidi, Daniel, and David talk about the rising calumny among Catholic candidates and elected officials, and examine changing demographics in Gen Z. Heidi interviews Jeanné Lewis, CEO of Faith in Public Life.

As a Sept. 18 virtual call highlighted overlap between Catholic values and the policies promoted by Vice President Kamala Harris and VP nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, nearly every speaker mentioned Pope Francis.

Listen: Heidi, Father Daniel and David explore the possibilities of women in the diaconate and look at the Season of Creation in light of environmental destruction. Also, Heidi interviews ethicist Emily Reimer-Barry.

The Catholic Church must bear witness to its values in the political square, with more focus on its social justice teaching and not only abortion, according to Catholic voters who gathered online to discuss the U.S. presidential election.

Listen: Heidi, Father Daniel and David talk about summer politics.