Religion News Service

When the world's cardinals meet in Rome, the pope will create 21 new cardinals, then ask them and their new colleagues to discuss curial reforms. This will also allow them to get to know one another before the next conclave.

About 80 Robb Elementary families are attempting to transfer their children to Sacred Heart Catholic School, according to the nonprofit Catholic Extension.

In her new song "Church Girl," Beyoncé doesn't just give church girls permission to dance, she also defends us.

Thomas Reese: Any procedure for removing an incapacitated pope should not be quick or easy, but it should be public.

While the Vatican hopes for a diplomatic resolution, Catholic leaders cater to Ukrainian faithful on the ground.

Phyllis Zagano: The synod is a worldwide event, and early reports from bishops' conferences outside the U.S. repeat the same story: Clericalism is a scourge on the church, and women are not respected or included in leadership.

The report, "Beyond Bad Apples," explores the links between clericalism — clergy's focus on its authority — and clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse. 

Commentary: Like in "Apollo 13, " Ron Howard's new film "Thirteen Lives" shows how teamwork, ingenuity and outside-the-box thinking can solve seemingly impossible missions. With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, we can begin to summon the same dogged determination on climate change.

News of the federal investigations comes several months after the nation's largest denomination passed new reforms aimed at addressing abuse.

An unauthorized church production of the hit musical caused an uproar among fans. "Are you telling me that no one involved in putting on this show asked the question, can we do this?" one commentator said.

Some adoptees are challenging the often-religious argument that adoption is a simple, sacred and mutually beneficial solution to abortion.

"If this is what the bishops are going to do, if this was their plan for a 'post-Roe' world, then Catholics are going to be very disappointed," said one observer of the Catholic hierarchy.

At The BTS Center, an outgrowth of a now-defunct United Church of Christ seminary, thinking about the spiritual sector's response to climate change is fueled by a common conviction: that the climate crisis is a spiritual crisis.

Thomas Reese: Pope Francis' six-day pastoral visit to Canada was a great success. It wasn't until the news conference on the plane back to Rome that it became clear he wasn't properly briefed for his visit.

Three years after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, which contained the demand for an apology for residential schools, Francis rushed to canonize a man who perpetrated very similar harms.

Anglican bishops from all over the world began the Lambeth Conference this week amid a furious conflict over same-sex marriage and a scramble by the archbishop of Canterbury and other church leaders to defuse it.

The pope's visit showed his respect for Indigenous culture and its incorporation into church life and liturgy. This is as important to the Indigenous peoples of Canada as his apologies.

The uncomfortable truth isn't delivered on the new album through the moralistic grandstanding we might expect from someone assuming the mantle of prophet. Instead, the rapper's truth-telling comes via vulnerable — albeit sometimes problematic — storytelling.

Thomas Reese: Better guidelines for retired popes are needed. Pope Francis seems to be proceeding gently in that direction so as not to appear critical of his predecessor.

With Roe v. Wade overturned, new data from the Washington, D.C.-based Public Religion Research Institute found that among Latino Catholics, 75% say abortion should be legal in most or all cases. That's a big jump from the 51% who said so in 2010.