Christopher White

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Dec. 20 that he would nominate Brian Burch as his next ambassador to the Holy See. Burch is president of the political advocacy group CatholicVote.org.

Pope Francis on Dec. 19 spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden by phone, ahead of a  White House announcement that the two men will hold a final meeting at the Vatican next month before Biden leaves office. 

Fiducia Supplicans arrived in reporters' inboxes at 2:15 in the afternoon one year ago today, on Dec. 18, for "immediate" publication. In many respects, it defined the year ahead for Pope Francis and some of his key allies.

Pope Francis warned against reducing faith to a "private affair" during a visit to Corsica, a French isle where as many as 90% of residents identify as Catholic and where adult baptisms and confirmations are on the rise.

Pope Francis on Dec. 12 called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, the alleviation of foreign debt and the creation of a new global fund to eradicate hunger and combat climate change. 

Pope Francis on Dec. 8 made a special appeal for the lives of death row inmates in the United States to be spared.

Pope Francis, with bruises visible on his neck and chin, led a Dec. 7 consistory elevating 21 new prelates. He has now named 110 of the 140 cardinals who are eligible to participate in a future papal conclave.

The 2019 Notre Dame fire is remembered as one of France's darkest days. But for the historically Catholic country, it served as a harbinger of things to come. Now, the cathedral's reopening offers the church some positive news.

Decades of clergy sex abuse scandals are an "existential threat" to the Catholic Church and can only be remedied through transparency and prioritizing survivors, said the Australian ambassador to the Vatican. 

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to office, it's worth considering what Vatican-U.S. relations might look like during the four years ahead, NCR's Christopher White writes. 

For nearly 50 years, Columban Fr. Robert McCulloch has worked tirelessly to improve the country's health care and education systems, and in the process has helped boost Catholic-Muslim relations.

The U.S. bishops' conference needs a "committee on synodality," San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy told NCR in a joint interview with Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, who said, "This has to come in at the top of the list."

Pope Francis' three-year consultation on the future of the Catholic Church concluded on Oct. 26, outlining the institution's challenges and proposing ways for all the baptized to be involved in charting a path forward.

Rome's Caravita community has served as an unofficial parish for synod members from Australia, Great Britain, the United States and elsewhere over the past two Octobers.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández told synod delegates that the study into female diaconate would continue, but insisted that questions on women's leadership in the Catholic Church should not be linked to ordination.

The scope of group five includes "theological and canonical matters regarding specific ministerial forms" and, in particular, "theological and pastoral research on the access of women to the diaconate."

As the yearslong synod on synodality inches toward its Oct. 27 conclusion, the resistance has effectively gone silent, a stark contrast to last year's summit, as well as to Pope Francis' earlier synods.

Delegates are officially barred from discussing specifics of the conversations inside the Vatican's synod hall. But members told NCR that hot-button issues are being discussed both inside the room and on the sidelines.

The pope just announced a new consistory that will take place Dec. 8 appointing 21 new cardinals from around the world. Eleven of these new cardinals are from religious orders. Only one of them is older than 80 so will not be eligible to vote in the conclave.

Pope Francis on Oct. 6 announced that he will create 21 new cardinals, giving the 87-year old pontiff another opportunity to further cement his legacy by now naming 80% of the men who will one day elect his successor.