Katie Collins Scott

Launching the process for the synod on synodality, Pope Francis challenged Catholics to "become experts in the art of encounter." For that, some U.S. church leaders enlisted the help of a network of local organizations.

Pilot study of moral injury caused by clergy sexual abuse tries to "measure the psychological distress, the spiritual distress and the moral dissonance or confusion because of that violation."

While the Seattle Archdiocese argues that the new home will provide needed space for guests and events, others are critical of the purchase, given Archbishop Paul Etienne's initial promise to live a "simplified life."

Agency leaders say the model, which offers independent living units, can offer community, safety and healing for residents better than typical shelter buildings.

In a nearly unprecedented move by a bishop, a retired head of the Diocese of Albany, New York, has asked the Vatican that he be laicized. 

A recent organizing effort at Loyola University New Orleans is part of a nationwide push by Sodexo workers — a number of them at Catholic colleges — to unionize and fight for higher wages and lower health care costs.

The Vatican reprimanded a retired bishop for how he handled clergy abuse allegations. But no one knows details about the case or a whistleblower's role.

LGBTQ advocates say many Catholic secondary schools are working to support students. But they also believe there's a harmful trend: new diocesan-approved policies or guidelines on gender identity and sexual orientation.

As residents of Kentucky endure historic flooding and face a rising death toll, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington is working to assess the damage, ramp up assistance and listen attentively to those affected.

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.