A drone view Sept. 29 shows a damaged area in Asheville, North Carolina, following the passing of Tropical Storm Helene. The storm made landfall at 11:10 p.m. (Eastern time) Sept. 27 in Florida's Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane and was downgraded to a tropical storm the next morning. (OSV News/Reuters/Marco Bello)
News

In Asheville, North Carolina, priests try to serve amid Helene's devastation

EarthBeat

After Hurricane Helene hit in North Carolina, priests were called on for practical and spiritual help as the region was without electricity, water or telecommunications, and crews were gradually clearing roads.

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Focus

Pope Francis answers a question from a journalist aboard his flight back to Rome Sept. 29, after visiting Luxembourg and Belgium during his 46th international trip. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

In Focus

Pope Francis condemns 'immoral' use of force in military retaliation

Pope Francis on Sept. 29 strongly condemned the disproportionate use of military force for the purposes of retaliation and said that any nation that violates this principle is "immoral."

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Ouellet, vested in red, smiles at camera.

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Influential cardinal urges Vatican to unshackle charismatic groups in new book

Cardinal Marc Ouellet’s new book, "Word, Sacrament, Charism: Risks and Opportunities of a Synodal Church," hopes to offer a new perspective for synodal discussions by suggesting that the church should promote and enable charisms, intended as gifts by the Holy Spirit that are given to every baptized Catholic.

ByClaire Giangravé, Religion News Service
Maureen Rasmussen, left, and Martha Marvel meet Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sept. 18. They were among four American Catholic trans women who sent the pope a letter describing their lives as Catholics and transgender people before meeting him. (Vatican Media)

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4 trans Catholic women call meeting pope a step toward healing and inclusion

Meeting the pope "convinces me I'm on the right path," said one of four American transgender women, lifelong Catholics, who met with Pope Francis Sept. 18. 

ByCamillo Barone
Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during the 71st annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City Oct. 20, 2016. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were expected to share a multi-tiered dais with New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan and other church, political, business and social luminaries at the 79th annual dinner Oct. 17, 2024. Harris is not planning to attend the annual dinner this year, while Trump said Sept. 23 that he will be there. (OSV News)
NCR Voices

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Why it is smart for Kamala Harris to skip the Al Smith dinner

How do you respect the bounds of normalcy and decency when your opponent not only fails to recognize such boundaries, but has actually made his ability to blow through such boundaries part of his essential schtick?

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At historic Belgian Catholic university, pope hears pleas for women's ordination, LGBTQ acceptance

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Pope expels bishop and 9 other people from a Peru movement after Vatican uncovers abuses

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Brooklyn priest swept into federal probe of NYC mayor asks for prayers

Opinion

Leslie Test (No EB Opinion)

Editorial

Five things to watch for in the upcoming October synod

Guest Voices
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The spirit moves through a surprise visit, and the memory of an old friend

NCR Voices

Though we had just met in my first week on the job, Sister Annie arrived unannounced and unsurprisingly at the moment I needed to hear from her most.

Cultural and spiritual differences can challenge us, enrich our faith journeys

The pope refused to tell Americans how to vote. But he told us how to think about it.

Guest Voices
Pope Francis speaks to participants in a conference of moderators of associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements and new movements in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican June 13. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Will the synod be a yawn? Only for headline writers

NCR Voices

As Pope Francis likes to say, reality is more important than ideas, so examining legitimate diversity among the churches will require a discussion of controversies that divide local churches.

Vatican

Francis, the comic strip: Gabby and Brother Leo agree that children are the future.
Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip: Gabby and Brother Leo agree that children are the future. 

A delegation of women ministries leaders meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Sept. 30, 2024. (Courtesy of Pilar Timpane)
Vatican News

Pope Francis meets with women ministry advocates ahead of the synod opening

On Sept. 30, Pope Francis met with a delegation of women at the Vatican who presented voices from the Amazon region and around the world.

ByChristopher White
Pope Francis answers a question from a journalist aboard his flight back to Rome Sept. 29, after visiting Luxembourg and Belgium during his 46th international trip. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

Pope Francis condemns 'immoral' use of force in military retaliation

Pope Francis on Sept. 29 strongly condemned the disproportionate use of military force for the purposes of retaliation and said that any nation that violates this principle is "immoral."

ByChristopher White
Pope Francis greets a Muslim family from Djibouti at the nunciature in Brussels Sept. 28. As refugees, they had reached Belgium thanks to the help of the Rome-based Community of Sant'Egidio. The visit came during the second full day of the pope's Sept. 27-29 visit to Belgium. (CNS/Vatican Media)
Vatican News

Pope blasts 'arrogant indifference' of putting financial gain over planet

Pope Francis on Sept. 28 slammed the "arrogant indifference" of powerful leaders who put financial interests over efforts to save the planet and said a conversion of the heart is necessary to combat climate change. 

ByChristopher White

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vatican News

At historic Belgian Catholic university, pope hears pleas for women's ordination, LGBTQ acceptance

Vatican News

In Belgium, pope apologizes for clergy abuse; prime minister says words alone are insufficient

Vatican News

In secular Luxembourg, Pope Francis calls on church to 'evolve' in order to evangelize

Opinion

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ByStephanie Yeagle
A drone view Sept. 29 shows a damaged area in Asheville, North Carolina, following the passing of Tropical Storm Helene. The storm made landfall at 11:10 p.m. (Eastern time) Sept. 27 in Florida's Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane and was downgraded to a tropical storm the next morning. (OSV News/Reuters/Marco Bello)
News

In Asheville, North Carolina, priests try to serve amid Helene's devastation

After Hurricane Helene hit in North Carolina, priests were called on for practical and spiritual help as the region was without electricity, water or telecommunications, and crews were gradually clearing roads.

ByBarb Fraze
Group stands in middle of flooded area.

Relief efforts underway in western North Carolina; flooding caused by Helene devastates region

Relief efforts are under way to help communities across western North Carolina reeling from the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene. Unprecedented flooding from the storm swamped municipal water systems, washed away roads and downed utility lines — leaving many mountain communities cut off Sept. 27 and in critical need of emergency aid.

ByThe Catholic News Herald, OSV News

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Justice

With $20M EPA grant, Gonzaga looks to build climate resilience in Spokane

Faith

Mountain-climbing monks enjoy views, brews and Mass on Pacific Northwest peaks

Viewpoints

Praying With Creation: Notice the hope revealed in nature

Culture

Víctor Erice's "Close Your Eyes" begins with seeking answers to a mysterious disappearance, but the real mystery solved is that of regaining lost faith.

'Close Your Eyes' is a spiritual cinematic experience

Cinema can serve as a connection to the divine, writes Jose Solís, and Víctor Erice's "Close Your Eyes" is an invitation to just that.

Patricia Fresen, right, greets Elsie Hainz McGrath during a ceremony at which McGrath and another woman where ordained by Fresen at the Central Reform Congregation Synagogue in St. Louis in this Nov. 11, 2007, file photo. (CNS photo/Karen Elshout)
Book Reviews

New book shares stories of Roman Catholic womenpriests

The church can hear the stories of women who have chosen to follow their call to the priesthood through ordination, thanks to the new book Women Called to Catholic Priesthood: From Ecclesial Challenge to Spiritual Renewal.

ByHeidi Schlumpf
The cast of the television series "The West Wing" appears in a 1999 publicity photo. (Newscom/Album/NBC)

Lawrence O'Donnell on Catholicism in 'The West Wing' 25 years later

The show's lasting reputation has little to do with politics or policy, "West Wing" writer Lawrence O'Donnell told NCR. It comes from the series' ability to "teach empathy and sympathy for other people's conditions."

ByJoe Ferullo
The cast of "Deliverance", in costume, behind the scenes with director Lee Daniels.

Review: 'The Deliverance' brings fresh Black faith to horror genre

Briana Jansky says the new Lee Daniels flick integrates the African-American experience with a positive view of Christianity that's all too rare.

ByBriana Jansky, Black Catholic Messenger

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Book Reviews

Is the information age a 'Crisis of Narration'? This book says yes

Book Reviews

Modern, young religious life demystified in 'For Love of the Broken Body'

What HGTV taught me about honoring the past

Sr. Margaret Gonsalves is pictured at Niagara Falls, during a recent visit to Canada with her siblings. (Courtesy of Margaret Gonsalves)
Columns

Look through prism of oneness to celebrate colorful creation

Within God's colorful world and poetic expressions of God's harmonic creation, where is there room for discrimination against people of color and different orientations?

Religious of the Sacred Heart Sr. Mary Frohlich, center, is seen at Hirtle's Beach, Nova Scotia. She is with Sr. Diane Roche, left, and Sr. Jane O'Shaughnessy. Frolich is a hiking retreat leader and certified as a forest therapy guide. (Ellyn Stewart)

Q&A with Sr. Mary Frohlich, retreat leader and forest therapy guide

Beyond her identity as a scholar and author, and foremost in her spiritual life, Sr. Mary Frohlich immerses herself in nature. She is a skilled hiking retreat leader, and certified as a forest therapy guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.

ByCarole Sargent
Children from the adopted community in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines, gather at the makeshift venue for tutorials, catechesis and meals. (Courtesy of Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Mother of God)
Columns

Franciscan sisters 'adopt' two Philippine communities to educate needy children

In Cordova and Lapu-Lapu on Mactan Island, the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Mother of God support the education of children and offer livelihood training to their parents in poverty.

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Four different fall leaves lined up on a wooden table (Unsplash/Markus Spiske)

Cultural and spiritual differences can challenge us, enrich our faith journeys

The Life - Our sister panelists consider: When have you engaged with people whose life experiences are vastly different from your own, and how did these interactions transform your long-held ideas about life?

ByThe Life Panelists

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At UN Summit of the Future, sisters highlight root causes of poverty

My 1st general chapter a journey of faith and renewal

Q&A with Sr. Claire Sokol, composing faith-driven music for stage, screen and beyond

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