Katie Collins Scott

Ahead of July papal trip, many Indigenous Canadians are hoping for concrete action from Pope Francis, such as financial support, release of residential school records, and the Vatican returning Indigenous artifacts.

Two months after the U.S. bishops' conference said it would halt Catholic News Service operations in the United States, Our Sunday Visitor on July 6 announced it will launch a new iteration of the service at the beginning of 2023.

Inspired by Fratelli Tutti, a recent conference explored ways the Catholic community can bring bold, creative proposals to current problems and help build a post-pandemic world more attuned to a Catholic vision.

Catholics responded with joy, anger and trepidation to the U.S. Supreme Court's June 24 decision that overturned its earlier 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that had guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion.

"I feel more confident we will have our day in court," said a survivor of childhood abuse by a Los Angeles archdiocesan priest. "The church will have to deal with this."

Allegations of physical assault, sexual assault and hazing at a Catholic high school in Santa Ana, California, illustrate a toxic culture stretching back decades and an ongoing lack of accountability, critics say.

NCR speaks with Raven Chacon, whose award-winning composition "Voiceless Mass" in part explores the tension between Catholic and Indigenous cultures — a tension that is personal for Chacon.

One day pastoral associate Aaron Bianco walked into his church office and discovered a spray-painted hate message. Nearly four years later, he received another memorable message — this time at the Vatican, from the pope.

While Catholic health care leaders have launched initiatives to reduce inequities, some researchers and advocates suggest Black women are disproportionately harmed by the religious directives that inform Catholic-based care.

Four Portland Catholic churches have been vandalized in the span of about six weeks. At least one incident involved a group protesting the recent discovery of unmarked graves at primarily Catholic-run schools in Canada, while other instances appear to be the work of disgruntled teens and individuals with general anger toward the church.

"My brother was murdered by a drive-by shooting at the age of 18 years old," says a young man from Chicago whose emotion-stained voice plays in a video.

A past president of the University of Portland, Holy Cross Br. Raphael Wilson, is listed in the recently released grand jury report investigating the widespread alleged sexual abuse of children within six Pennsylvania dioceses.

This November, Oregonians will vote on whether the nation's oldest statewide sanctuary law will remain in place. State election officials announced July 17 that Initiative Petition 22, the "Stop Oregon Sanctuaries" campaign, has enough valid signatures to make the fall ballot.