Aleja Hertzler-McCain

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."

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, told NCR its call for better inclusion of LGBTQ Catholics shows that that topic is "no longer an issue on the margins."

"Racial healing is a mandate and, as American Catholics, we have work to do": Participants in a June 14 panel hosted by Georgetown University said the U.S. church must recommit to building the "beloved community."

Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik canceled a Mass in solidarity with LGBTQ people after Catholic influencers urged followers to contact him. Organizers say the Mass would not have promoted ideas "contrary to church teaching."

Theologians who participated in synod listening sessions with U.S. bishops were grateful for the opportunity for relationship-building. But they also have concerns about the latest phase of the synod process. 

In an unusual shared statement, two U.S. archbishops joined with the Japanese bishops of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to call on the G-7 summit to "undertake concrete steps toward global, verifiable nuclear disarmament."

Most Blessed Trinity Parish in Waukegan, Illinois, collected 166 guns at a drive-thru gun buyback event on April 29 after the Chicago Archdiocese decided it was important to host a gun buyback in Lake County.

"The regime in Nicaragua has sharply increased its persecution of the Catholic Church by imprisoning clergy, shuttering church-affiliated organizations, and prohibiting Catholic rituals," a new report said.

In NCR interviews after the announcement that Pope Francis will expand participation in the upcoming synod to include laypersons as voting members, theologians and reform groups praised the move as a substantial change.

For almost two months, state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who is Catholic, has successfully filibustered nearly every bill in Nebraska's unicameral legislature as a way of stopping passage of a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

Data shows that after natural disasters, people with disabilities experience worse outcomes. Leaders in disaster response and operations spoke to NCR about actions and initiatives that could help.

Despite a decline, Catholics remain the largest religious group among Latinos in the United States, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

Critics say the Vatican statement that the 15th-century documents "were manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers" sidesteps its responsibility in legitimizing exploitation of Indigenous peoples.

San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy sharply criticized the Eternal Word Television Network, the conservative Catholic U.S. media conglomerate, in an interview with Spanish magazine Vida Nueva published on March 24.