Mexican artist Fabian Chairez stands next to his painting showing Mexican Revolution hero Emiliano Zapata straddling on a horse nude, wearing high heels and a pink, broad-brimmed, during an interview at the Fine Arts Palace in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019.

Controversial Mexico City exhibit raises questions about art, faith and censorship

Culture

Fabián Cháirez's "La venida del Señor" featured nine paintings depicting consecrated religious in sexually charged poses, some of which suggest same-sex relationships. But despite what protesters say, this isn't new.

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Focus

The St. John Paul II statue in the main courtyard at Gemelli Hospital in Rome (NCR photo/Camillo Barone)

In Focus

At Gemelli Hospital, workers and visitors unite in prayer for Pope Francis

From the hushed prayers in a hospital chapel to the flickering candles outside Gemelli Hospital, Pope Francis' hospitalization has become a testament to faith and solidarity.

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Pope Francis and Juan Cruz
Guest Voices

#1
Ignore Cardinal Dolan's disrespect. We need Pope Francis.

I am angry about Cardinal Timothy Dolan's remark that the pontiff was “probably close to death.” What we need is Pope Francis back. The world needs him back.

ByJuan Carlos Cruz Chellew
Parishioners pray at the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary in Moscow in an undated photo. (Dreamstime/Uladzimir Zuyeu)

#2
At 3 years of war, Russian Catholics reflect on the place of their small community

The Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine was an opportunity to offer "ever more fervent prayers for peace," but Trump's reset in relations with Putin was also proving difficult to understand.

ByJonathan Luxmoore
People hold a banner with a greeting in Italian for Pope Francis outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital on March 6. The banner says, "Cercola is praying for you. Stay strong, rise and walk." The phrase "rise and walk" is from the Acts of the Apostles, and Cercola is a town near Naples. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

#3
Pope Francis sends first audio message since hospitalization, offering gratitude for prayers

Pope Francis' recovery from double pneumonia is continuing on a positive trajectory, with the pontiff remaining stable for another day. Francis on March 6 released a brief audio message expressing gratitude for the prayers he has received during his three-week hospitalization. 

ByChristopher White, Camillo Barone

#4
Bishop Barron compares Trump's address to Congress to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

#5
Inside an episode some conservatives use to bash Cardinal McElroy, and why they're wrong

#6
Trump's US attorney in DC fires salvo at Georgetown law school. Dean fires back.

Opinion

5 years after COVID-19: What we can't shake

NCR Voices

Your letters: Bishop defends fellow Bishop Barron while laywomen criticize him

Letters to the Editor
Us Department of Education building

The Francis Effect podcast: Threats to education and Georgetown law school; Christian nationalism

Listen: This Francis Effect episode features a discussion on the Trump administration's threats to education. Heidi Schlumpf interviews Rev. Angela Denker about Christian nationalism.

A glimpse of the diversity in heaven at the LA Congress

Guest Voices

Ignore Cardinal Dolan's disrespect. We need Pope Francis.

Guest Voices
A sad-looking resident is seen walking through rubble at a site of an apartment building in Odesa, Ukraine, which was hit by a Russian drone strike amid Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Ukraine's fight against Russian fossil fuels is everyone's battle

Guest Voices

Commentary: The same MAGA diplomacy that loudly lectures Ukraine about peace simultaneously works to dismantle climate action and maintain a brutal addiction to fossil fuel.

Vatican

Pope Francis speaks at synod.
Vatican News

Pope Francis' health continues to improve, Vatican says

On March 11, Pope Francis approved a three-year plan focused on implementing the reforms initiated by his recent synod on synodality.

Zelenskyy tweet
Vatican News

As ceasefire talk continues, Zelenskyy speaks with Vatican official

The Vatican secretary of state and Ukraine's president spoke by phone March 14. Topics included the pope's health, the situation in Ukraine, a possible ceasefire and return of children taken from Ukraine into Russia.

ByCindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
CARDINAL PAROLIN AND DIPLOMATS MASS FOR POPE FRANCIS Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, celebrates a Mass to pray for Pope Francis with ambassadors accredited to the Holy See in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican March 14, 2025. Bishops and priests working in the Secretariat of State concelebrated. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Vatican News

One month in the hospital: No news on Pope Francis is good news

With no significant developments, Pope Francis' medical team decided not to release a scheduled bulletin on Friday.

ByCatholic News Service
Pope prays alone in empty St. Peter's Square.
Vatican News

Pope Francis marks 12 years of papacy on 28th day in hospital

Pope Francis nears a month in the hospital, where he has battled double pneumonia for the last month in the gravest health crisis of his pontificate. 
 

ByChristopher White

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip: Journalists are an essential light

Vatican News

Pope Francis' latest X-rays confirm improvement

Vatican News

Despite pope's hospitalization and Trump's USAID cuts, Jubilee Year push for debt relief continues

Priests and nuns in Flores protest on March 12 in front of the Ngada Regent office demanding a revocation permit for the Mataloko geothermal project. (Courtesy photo)
Justice

Priests, nuns join protest to Indonesia's geothermal project

Catholic priests and nuns joined hundreds of activists demanding to stop a geothermal project on the predominantly Catholic Flores island in Indonesia, saying the project violates villagers' land rights and damages the environment.

A plate of goat cheese bruschetta prepared by certified executive chef Jim Churches, president of the American Culinary Federation's Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association and a member of St. Patrick Parish in Brighton, Mich., are seen in this undated photo. Churches told OSV News that with planning, flexibility and creativity, Lenten meals can engage the entire family and every palate. (OSV News photo/Courtesy of Jim Churches)
Viewpoints

Lenten food 'doesn't mean boring,' says Catholic chef

Discipline and deliciousness aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, said certified executive chef Jim Churches, president of the American Culinary Federation's Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association and a member of St. Patrick Parish in Brighton, Michigan.

ByGina Christian, OSV News
(Unsplash/Steve Wrzeszczynski)
Viewpoints

NCR recipes for Lent: Vegan Irish lentil Guinness stew

NCR executive editor James V. Grimaldi came up with a Guinness lentil stew made with the famous Irish stout. He thinks that seems right for the weekend. And if you're in the D.C. area, he has a March 15 party invite for you.

ByJames V. Grimaldi
Viewpoints

No, Elon, we should not go to Mars

 It makes more sense to spend money saving the Earth from climate change, ecological destruction and international conflicts than it does going to Mars.

ByThomas Reese, Religion News Service

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Justice

Q&A with Sr. Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnel, champion of women farmers in India

Faith

Laudato Si' 101: Catholic University students boost energy efficiency at Newark Archdiocese

Justice

'Yes to life, no to mining': Sisters in El Salvador join church's protest

Culture

Mexican artist Fabian Chairez stands next to his painting showing Mexican Revolution hero Emiliano Zapata straddling on a horse nude, wearing high heels and a pink, broad-brimmed, during an interview at the Fine Arts Palace in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019.

Controversial Mexico City exhibit raises questions about art, faith and censorship

Fabián Cháirez's "La venida del Señor" featured nine paintings depicting consecrated religious in sexually charged poses, some of which suggest same-sex relationships. But despite what protesters say, this isn't new.

Documentary chronicles history of liberation theology-inspired movements in Latin America

The film "The Gospel of Revolution" traces liberation theology's history of inspiring social movements in Latin America to seek economic and social balance through policies that prioritized the poor.

ByJose Solís
An empty room in a convent (Unsplash/Mario La Pergola)
Book Reviews

'Stone Yard Devotional' sets forgiveness, empathy and death in an Australian convent

Charlotte Wood's Stone Yard Devotional takes place in a convent in the Australian outback — and on an existential plane.

ByRenée Roden
Victor Bento performs as S. Adriano (countertenor) in "Sweet Chains" on Oct. 19, 2024, at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City. (Courtesy of David Thompson Fairchild)

Academy of Sacred Drama brings lost Baroque oratorios back to life after 300 years

Hidden gems of these lost sacred dramas are returning to the stage, thanks to the Academy of Sacred Drama. In a unique blend of music, storytelling and history, the ensemble is bringing works back to life after centuries of silence.

ByCamillo Barone

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

'Hip-Hop Mass' brings African American Catholic flair in Atlanta

'Don't Die,' Ballerina Farm and the theology of self-optimization

Book Reviews

'The Road to Wisdom' requires trust in both science and faith

Columns

Mary, companion of my new 'yes' in Argentina

Sr. Elsa Porcario finds in the Virgin Mary a steadfast spiritual presence in her consecrated life. After serving as a missionary and formator in the Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she embarked on a new path as a Servant of the Poor. In Mary, she discovers the strength to navigate uncertainty, fear and solitude, learning to trust, hope and love without knowing what lies ahead.

Catholic religious in India have undertaken several steps to improve the formation of nuns. The Conference of Religious Women India now includes sex education, responsible use of social media and psychosocial well-being in its training programs. (GSR graphic/Olivia Bardo; Photo courtesy of Molly Mathew)

Catholic religious in India revise formation to address sex abuse, suicide cases

"The women religious in India have faced gender discrimination and sexual abuses that have caused mental health challenges for many, driving some to suicide," said Sr. Molly Mathew, who coordinates the program to revise formation curricula.

ByThomas Scaria
Miriam Marston, a consecrated virgin of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, is consecrated in 2020, by Archbishop Alexander Sample. (Courtesy of Miriam Marston)

Growing number of women choose vocation of consecrated virginity

"I hope that in my joyful witness of what a relationship with God can look like, I can perhaps inspire others to look at a relationship with God in their own life," says Miriam Marston, a consecrated virgin of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.

By
Cropped photo of Jesus Christ on a crucfix with out-of-focus stained glass in the background at at Holy Sacrament Church in Itajai, Brazil.
Columns

Religious vocation: A perpetual commitment to Christ

I had to wait for eight years to make my perpetual vows. These vows committed me to Christ forever. In the words of St. Paul, I was ready to lose everything to gain Christ.

By

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Q&A with Sr. Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnel, champion of women farmers in India

Monday Starter: CSW meetings to focus on 30 years since Beijing Declaration

'Yes to life, no to mining': Sisters in El Salvador join church's protest

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