Aleja Hertzler-McCain

"A big, small step forward": Catholic theologians and LGBTQ+ advocates greeted with mixed emotions the Dec. 18 declaration from the Vatican's doctrinal office that priests could bless same-sex couples.

Like Catholic parishioners across the Yakima Diocese, Bishop Joseph Tyson can tell the warming climate is changing the land in central Washington state, where farmworkers "feel the effects of heat and of smoke."

At New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., Catholics joined Protestants and Orthodox Christians on Dec. 11 for a worship service calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

According to a new Pew Research Center poll, 46% of spiritual American Catholics said that "finding a set of beliefs that I make for myself" is essential to what being spiritual means to them.

El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, who leads the U.S. bishops' work on migration, offers dying migrants final prayers so he can assure the migrants' families that "they didn't die alone."

Conservative Catholic groups across the country are lobbying their local libraries to remove books with LGBTQ themes from their shelves. 

A group of U.S. bishops, led by Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester, and a Catholic sister met with senior White House officials about Pope Francis' latest climate letter, Laudate Deum, for 45 minutes on Nov. 17.

Five Catholic activists were arrested in a U.S. Senate office building on Nov. 9, as part of a witness calling on American politicians to push for a cease-fire in the ongoing Israeli war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

About 60 Catholics gathered for a pray-in on Nov. 2, hoping President Joe Biden would hear their prayers for peace in Israel and Palestine and their calls for him to support a cease-fire and pursue diplomacy. 

U.S. Catholics said that individual Americans can help "a lot" to reduce the effects of climate change at higher rates than U.S. adults overall, a new Pew poll finds.

Pope Francis cited Donna Haraway's use of the term "contact zone" in his apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum. They are most well known for their work that explores humanity's relationship with animals and machines.

The Africa Faith and Justice Network, founded by three Catholic religious orders to lobby in D.C., is celebrating 40 years. The organization now also seeks to empower advocacy efforts across the African continent.

Climate scientists say the science is sound in Pope Francis' new exhortation, Laudate Deum, and theologians applaud his "laser focus" on the climate crisis. But some also raise criticisms.

As the Synod of Bishops opens Oct. 4, LGBTQ+ Catholics are expressing gratitude that Pope Francis' revamped synodal process has included their voices, and sharing cautious hope that the outcome will lead to even greater openness.

As the first gathering of Pope Francis' Synod of Bishops is set to begin Oct. 4, Latin American and U.S. Latino theologians are recognizing influences from the pope's Latin American roots in the synod's theology and methodology.

In September 2022, parishioners at Denver's St. Ignatius Loyola Parish learned that the Jesuits would be leaving their parish after almost 100 years of service. In NCR interviews, the now former Jesuit pastor and several parishioners looked back on a difficult year of change.

Across the U.S., disabled people facing homelessness endure unique struggles because of a shortage of affordable, accessible housing. Catholic organizations are among those trying to help.

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, America's first Black Catholic cardinal, addressed the National Black Catholic Congress — the first time in the event's 134-year history that a Black U.S. cardinal existed to do so. 

At the 13th National Black Catholic Congress, attendees will consider: "How do Black Catholics strive to take their rightful place in various areas and ministries of the church and leadership of the church?" 

Since 1995, a group of women has given food to passing migrants on a dangerous train crossing from Mexico to the U.S. Las Patronas are committed to "knowing God through the migrant."