The University of St. Thomas campus is pictured in a 2016 photo (Wikimedia Commons/Runner1928)

Catholic universities scrambling amid Trump's diversity crackdown

News

The Department of Education is threatening the federal funding of any school, including Catholic ones, that considers race in any aspect of student life. Already, 185 students are losing scholarship money from a canceled $6.8 million grant that attempted to address teacher shortages in Minnesota.

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Newly sworn-in Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, center left, and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, center right, pose for a photo with their children and Vice President JD Vance, center, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, Jan. 28, 2025. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Department of Transportation)

In Focus

Trump's Catholic Cabinet: How will their faith shape their work?

More than a third of Trump's Cabinet nominees are Catholic. Three — Sean Duffy, Marco Rubio and John Ratcliffe — have already been confirmed by the Senate. Here are brief profiles of all nine of Trump's Catholic picks.

Most Read Stories

Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrates Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Dec. 29, 2024, to mark the kickoff of the 2025 Jubilee. Dolan delivered a homily Feb. 15 at the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland, after the cardinal’s flight to Ireland was unexpectedly diverted. (OSV News/Jeffrey Bruno)

#1
Cardinal Dolan among passengers whose flight is diverted, grounded on Canadian island

A diverted trip, a grounded flight and an unexpected stay in Canada showed that "Jesus ... is in charge, not us," said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York in a Feb. 15 homily.

ByGina Christian, OSV News
Pope Francis holds his spring meeting with the officers of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops April 18, 2024, at the Vatican. Seated from left are: Fr. Michael J.K. Fuller, the conference's general secretary; Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, vice president; Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services; and Fr. Paul B.R. Hartmann, associate general secretary. (CNS/Vatican Media)
NCR Voices

#2
While refuting JD Vance's hillbilly theology, Pope Francis chastises US bishops

It is not every day that the pope publicly scolds a group of bishops. Those unfamiliar with papal texts can be forgiven for thinking Pope Francis' letter to the U.S. bishops was one of encouragement. It wasn't.

ByMichael Sean Winters
Newly sworn-in Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, center left, and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, center right, pose for a photo with their children and Vice President JD Vance, center, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, Jan. 28, 2025. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Department of Transportation)

#3
Trump's Catholic Cabinet: How will their faith shape their work?

More than a third of Trump's Cabinet nominees are Catholic. Three — Sean Duffy, Marco Rubio and John Ratcliffe — have already been confirmed by the Senate. Here are brief profiles of all nine of Trump's Catholic picks.

ByHeidi Schlumpf

#4
Word extinguished: Bishop Barron's digital silence

#5
Vatican says Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs

#6
Q&A: Lung doctor who worked in the hospital now treating Pope Francis explains his illness

Opinion

The spiritual wisdom of Howard Thurman in the face of fear

NCR Voices

Trump's audacity echoes the age-old voice of fallen empires

Guest Voices
Sr. Marie Frank, a member of the Missionaries of Charity, prepares lunch in a soup kitchen run by her order in an apartment building in the South Bronx section of New York in this 2016 photo. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

¿Volverá a surgir la vida religiosa? ¿Debería hacerlo?

Columnas

¿Cuál es el propósito de la vida consagrada en el mundo actual? La Hna. Joan Chittister afirma que no todas las religiosas están llamadas a trabajar directamente con los pobres ni a desempeñar el mismo tipo de ministerio. "Son las habilidades y el interés que cada hermana tiene en sí misma lo que decide el don que desarrolla", escribe y puntualiza que los carismas son dinámicos y deben renovarse constantemente. 

¿Volverá a surgir la vida religiosa? ¿Debería hacerlo?

Columnas

Trump administration plows on ahead, releasing anarchy upon the world

NCR Voices
Fr. James Callan, then pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Rochester, N.Y., poses in front of the church in 1997. (NCR file photo)

60 years of bold reporting: The legacy of a renegade priest

NCR Voices

At Corpus Christi Parish in 1997, NCR uncovered the groundbreaking ministry of Fr. James Callan, a priest whose daring vision would soon shake the foundations of ecclesiastical authority in Rochester, New York.

Vatican

A man hangs a medallion from an elevated balcony.
Vatican News

When the pope is sick, Italians always gossip about who comes next - even before 'Conclave'

The pope looms so large in everyday Italian life that there are lots of expressions that make light of even a dark event like his death.

Votive candles and flowers are seen at the base of a statue of St. John Paul II outside Rome's Gemelli hospital Feb. 19, 2025, where Pope Francis is being treated for double pneumonia. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)
Vatican News

Pope Francis, battling pneumonia, continues to improve, but long recovery anticipated

Pope Francis continues to improve and the 88-year old pontiff remains without fever and with a well-functioning heart, as he carries on his hospital recovery from double pneumonia. 

ByChristopher White
Two young men shown with heads bowed, one with hand over heart, standing in pews.
Vatican News

Catholics worldwide unite in prayer for pope's health

As Pope Francis continues to recover at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, Catholics in the pope's Diocese of Rome and around the world joined in prayer for his health.
 

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News
Francis, the comic strip: Mother Nature send her love to Francis through the grey skies over Gemelli Hospital.
Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip: A rainbow over Gemelli Hospital

Francis, the comic strip: Mother Nature sends her love to Francis through the gray skies over Gemelli Hospital.

ByPat Marrin

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vatican News

Vatican: Pope Francis shows 'slight improvement' in pneumonia hospitalization

Vatican News

Q&A: Lung doctor who worked in the hospital now treating Pope Francis explains his illness

Vatican News

A look at Pope Francis' previous hospitalizations and health problems

Sebastian Gollnow / Picture Alliance via Getty Images via Grist
Politics

Trump's attack on paper straws is mostly symbolic — but the plastics industry is celebrating

Plastic straws have become an international emblem of the harms of plastic pollution, and Trump's order is the latest salvo in a culture war that pits care for the environment against values like masculinity and freedom.

A group of young people shovel soil around base of newly planted tree.
Politics

Faith groups' environmental projects halted by Trump's climate funding freeze

More than 300 faith communities have lost access to grant funds that were intended to plant trees in disadvantaged urban communities, environmental faith leaders who managed the grants told RNS.

ByAleja Hertzler-McCain, Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service
Two fishermen in Bodo city arrive home with no catch after oil spills have affected aquatic life in local communities.
Justice

Catholics in Nigeria say Shell can't divest contaminated oil sites before cleanup

More than 1,200 residents from oil communities in the Niger Delta have filed a $323 million lawsuit against UK-based Royal Dutch Shell to halt their planned exit from the region. In Jan. 2024, Shell announced it had reached an agreement with a consortium of five Nigerian-based companies to divest its onshore operations from the region.

ByPatrick Egwu
Stang wearing t-shirt and standing in forested area.
Justice

'Martyr of the Amazon': Recalling Sr. Dorothy Stang's ministry 20 years after her murder

In the lead up to the 20th anniversary of the death of Sister Stang, who is considered by many as a "Martyr of the Amazon," a relic containing blood-soaked soil from the site of her murder was enshrined at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome on Jan. 10.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Justice

Loyola Marymount environment conference caught in Trump's DEI crackdown

Justice

Pope calls for respect for Indigenous peoples' land, water, food

Politics

How Trump's USAID shutdown threatens the world's climate goals

Culture

The front of church with bell tower and tiled roof.

Basilicas, churches and shrines across US are Jubilee 2025 pilgrimage sites

Across the country, basilicas, churches and shrines have begun opening their doors to local pilgrims. These sites each have a unique history and hold significance in their local region, helping Catholics to encounter God in new ways.

Sky Yang in "Last Days," a dramatic retelling of the life of missionary John Allen Chau who was killed in 2018 while proselytizing the inhabitants of a North Sentinel Island tribe. (Sundance Institute/Tanasak "Top" Boonlam)

'Last Days' is a cautionary tale of evangelism — and screenwriting — gone wrong

By trying to be "all things to all people" — wanting to both affirm murdered missionary John Chau's humanity and criticize the cocktail of motivations that drove him — "Last Days" turns an interesting story tepid.

ByZachary Lee
Nick Mohammed in "Ted Lasso" (Apple TV+)

The new trend in must-see TV is … pastoral care?

Amidst the chaos of an industry trying to regain its footing after the strikes of 2023, one fascinating trend that has emerged among popular shows is a focus on pastoral care. Jim McDermott examines the trend using "Ted Lasso," "Shrinking" and "The Pitt" as models.

ByJim McDermott
Pope Francis begins his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Feb. 5, 2025. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Book Reviews

Pope Francis reveals some secrets — and keeps many others — in new memoir

In his newly released memoir, Hope, the story of the world that made Jorge Mario Bergoglio — and, by extension, the world leader we know as Pope Francis — is a story finally told in his own words. But some details still await more probing biographers.

ByJason Berry

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Book Reviews

Catholic clergy abuse survivor details his story in tender new book

Book Reviews

'We Burn Daylight' uses fiction to explore the line between church and cult

Inspired by Thomas Merton, this 'Planetwalker' traversed the world in silent activism

Guests Gregory Morton and Angela Rice sit in the front room of St. Joseph's Place in Schenectady, N.Y. "This is a safe haven," Morton said. "If they're open, I'm here." (Sara Foss)

St. Joseph's Place offers safe haven in a troubled Schenectady neighborhood

For St. Joseph's Place regulars, the biggest draw is the three Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet who run the drop-in center. They provide comfort, care and counsel, which are intangible but very much needed.

Young boys enjoy a game of soccer during their spare time at St. Lawrence Home of Hope in Lusaka, Zambia. (Derrick Silimina)

At St. Lawrence Home of Hope in Lusaka, boys from the street get a new start

With the help of Zambian sisters and the Missionaries of Africa, the residential home reintegrates street kids into their families, homes and society while helping them regain their childhood, confidence and dreams.

By
Congregation of the Mother of Carmel Sr. Noel Rose is pictured with a 12-member contingent of the National Service Scheme at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, India. (Courtesy of Sr. Noel Rose)

Q&A with Sr. Noel Rose, forming students into responsible citizens

Sr. Noel Rose is the first Catholic nun to attend India's Republic Day parade in New Delhi as an official. Rose led a contingent of the National Service Scheme from the Indian state of Kerala at the Jan. 26 celebrations.

By
Sr. Florence Muia, an Assumption Sister of Nairobi who established Upendo Village in Kenya, discussed the challenges and successes of working in HIV/AIDS care during the Feb. 11 "Raising Resources for Healing Ministries" webinar. (GSR screenshot)

African sisters partner with Global Sisters Report in a health care webinar

"Raising Resources for Healing Ministries" gathered religious sisters and a network of organizations and experts dedicated to supporting the work of religious sisters who are essential to health care in Africa.

ByDoreen Ajiambo

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Are we stuck in a Catch-22 about ordained ministry for laywomen?

Nearly 30 years after he raped and murdered a nun, an Ohio man asked for forgiveness

Understanding who the church is in a five-day Vatican pilgrimage