Morning Briefing

Michael Sean Winters says Despite campaign to discredit him, Pope Francis strikes a chord with workers

How did you mark International Women's Day? The hamburger chain McDonald's flipped its Golden Arches logo on its website to look like a "W." (read about halfway down the page). Some stories for you to consider:

• Mary McAleese, the former president of Ireland, has called on Pope Francis to develop a "credible strategy" to include women at every level in the Catholic Church's global structure, saying their exclusion from decision-making roles "has left the church flapping about awkwardly on one wing."
• At U.N. development meetings, sisters present pathways to eradicate poverty
• Fifth annual National Catholic Sisters Week starts March 8
• The Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Washington archdiocese, offered this up: Catholic women reflect on their roles as leaders in the workplace and at home

Clare Coffey is one of NCR's Young Voices columnists. She writes: 'Lady Bird' inspires memories of Catholic high school and the sisters

The Young Voices column is posted every Thursday. Check out the full collection of Young Voices columns. Sign up for email newsletters and you'll receive an email every time a new column is posted. You can sign up here.

Every Friday we have a round-up of news from and about colleges and universities. If you're not reading Campus Notebook, this is what you missed today: Campus Notebook: National Labor Relations Board rules against university; Gonzaga hosting 'Me Too' activist. Read it every week and stay up to date!

What are you doing for Lent?

We offer you a a chance to enhance your prayer and reflection over these holy days using Sunday commentaries, articles, art and graphics from our sister publication Celebration as well as from National Catholic Reporter and Global Sisters Report. Visit all the resources on the Celebration page.

NCR and its sister publications offer quite a few resources for Lent (and when appropriate, the Easter season):

• Start your day inspired with daily Scripture reflections. Join NCR's sister publication, Celebration, for Daily Bread, a series of short reflections written by four authors who meet regularly to share the readings.
• Or reflect on Pencil Preaching by Pat Marrin. Every morning Pat Marrin breaks open the Word with a pencil sketch and a short meditation.

Mark this a #mustread: New Mexico's three Catholic bishops are rejecting a call by 33 Republican state legislators to punish the Catholic Church’s spokesman for saying racism played a part in the defeat of an initiative to expand early childhood education. In fact, you might say, they doubled down on their staffer's comments.

Iowa bishop trades miter for a bicycle helmet Davenport Bishop Tom Zinkula will lead a 20-person bicycle team in a bicycle ride across Iowa from west to east. That's a 428-mile, 8-day trip beginning July 21.

China, Vatican talks on bishops 'in full swing,' Chinese official says A deal on the thorny issue of bishops' appointments could be signed within months.