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Pope Leo XIV's words during his Angelus address came after a U.S. strike on Caracas killed at least 40 people, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country.
After US strike on Venezuela, Pope Leo urges respect for law, justice and peace
Pope Leo XIV's words during his Angelus address came after a U.S. strike on Caracas killed at least 40 people, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the c...
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January 4, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Pope Leo XIV's words during his Angelus address came after a U.S. strike on Caracas killed at least 40 people, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country.
As a year comes to a close, it's common for institutions to perform a holistic evaluation and promise new goals for the upcoming year. The U.S. Catholic Church should be no exception to this practice.
Black Americans need solidarity from the Catholic Church in 2026 — or else
"For many Black Catholics, the issue is not whether the Church moved to combat racial harm," writes Efran Menny. "But rather if the response was sufficient to meet the powerful wave of forces so adama...
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January 3, 2026 at 7:50 PM
As a year comes to a close, it's common for institutions to perform a holistic evaluation and promise new goals for the upcoming year. The U.S. Catholic Church should be no exception to this practice.
Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, has granted a dispensation from Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation to Catholics without authorization to stay in the United States, as well as those who "reasonably fear" being pursued in the ongoing immigration crackdown across the country.
Dispensation in Columbus Diocese for those who fear immigration crackdown pursuit
The Independent News Source
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January 2, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, has granted a dispensation from Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation to Catholics without authorization to stay in the United States, as well as those who "reasonably fear" being pursued in the ongoing immigration crackdown across the country.
Pope Leo XIV opened 2026 on Thursday with a plea for peace, singling out in particular countries "bloodied by conflict" and families wounded by violence.
Pope opens 2026 with plea for peace in countries bloodied by war, families wounded by violence
Pope Leo XIV opened 2026 on Thursday with a plea for peace, singling out in particular countries "bloodied by conflict" and families wounded by violence.
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January 2, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Pope Leo XIV opened 2026 on Thursday with a plea for peace, singling out in particular countries "bloodied by conflict" and families wounded by violence.
Happy New Year from all of us at NCR!
January 1, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Happy New Year from all of us at NCR!
Before the final countdown to the New Year, Christians should take a moment to remember all God's blessings of the past year and to reflect honestly on how they responded to those graces, Pope Leo XIV said.
Take time to review the past year with God, pope suggests
New Year's Eve is a time to remember God's great love and "to ask forgiveness for all the times we have failed to treasure his inspirations and invest the talents he has entrusted to us in the best po...
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December 31, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Before the final countdown to the New Year, Christians should take a moment to remember all God's blessings of the past year and to reflect honestly on how they responded to those graces, Pope Leo XIV said.
Israel on Tuesday said it had suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE, from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules.
Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza starting in 2026
Doctors Without Borders said Israel's decision would have a catastrophic impact on their work in Gaza, where they support around 20% of the hospital beds and a third of births.
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December 31, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Israel on Tuesday said it had suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE, from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules.
For faith leaders supporting and ministering to anxious immigrants across the United States, 2025 was fraught with challenges and setbacks. For many in these religious circles, the coming year could be worse.
US faith leaders supporting targeted immigrants brace for a tough year ahead
For faith leaders supporting and ministering to anxious immigrants across the United States, 2025 was fraught with challenges and setbacks. For many in these religious circles, the coming year could b...
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December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
For faith leaders supporting and ministering to anxious immigrants across the United States, 2025 was fraught with challenges and setbacks. For many in these religious circles, the coming year could be worse.
Pope Leo's midnight Mass sermon was beautiful and it was similar to what we Catholics have been hearing at Christmastime from our popes for decades. But it isn't just us Catholics who take note of Leo.
Pope Leo XIV's Christmas message breaks through with non-Catholics
Pope Leo's midnight Mass sermon was beautiful and it was similar to what we Catholics have been hearing at Christmastime from our popes for decades. But it isn't just us Catholics who take note of Leo...
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December 31, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Pope Leo's midnight Mass sermon was beautiful and it was similar to what we Catholics have been hearing at Christmastime from our popes for decades. But it isn't just us Catholics who take note of Leo.
The path to conversion, the door to God's mercy and the call to live in Christian hope all continue beyond the Jubilee Year, said the three cardinals who closed the Holy Doors at three major basilicas in Rome.
As Holy Doors close, cardinals emphasize God's arms are always open
The path to conversion, the door to God's mercy and the call to live in Christian hope all continue beyond the Jubilee Year, said the three cardinals who closed the Holy Doors at three major basilicas...
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December 30, 2025 at 4:46 PM
The path to conversion, the door to God's mercy and the call to live in Christian hope all continue beyond the Jubilee Year, said the three cardinals who closed the Holy Doors at three major basilicas in Rome.
When the Second Vatican Council opened in 1962, its proceedings were shrouded in secrecy. Then, unexpectedly, a mysterious byline appeared in The New Yorker: Xavier Rynne.
December 30, 2025 at 3:17 PM
When the Second Vatican Council opened in 1962, its proceedings were shrouded in secrecy. Then, unexpectedly, a mysterious byline appeared in The New Yorker: Xavier Rynne.
The Catholic bishop ministering in Ukraine's only surviving Black Sea port has urged Americans to continue upholding truth and justice, following new talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.
Ukrainian bishop issues letter to American people amid Trump-Zelenskyy talks
Bishop Stanislav Szyrokoradiuk of Odesa-Simferopol said that people "who've taken power" in the U.S. aren't "interested in truth and justice."
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December 30, 2025 at 2:18 PM
The Catholic bishop ministering in Ukraine's only surviving Black Sea port has urged Americans to continue upholding truth and justice, following new talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.
On this episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," John Dear put together a special one-hour, year-end episode of highlights from the 52 episodes throughout 2025.
Podcast: John Dear highlights visionary guests of 'The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast'
On this episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," John Dear put together a special one-hour, year-end episode of highlights from the 52 episodes throughout 2025.
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December 30, 2025 at 2:26 AM
On this episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," John Dear put together a special one-hour, year-end episode of highlights from the 52 episodes throughout 2025.
Family and community are webs of relationships in which we call forth one another's humanity. More than that, family and community exhibit what it means to be in the image and likeness of our Trinitarian God.
Feast of the Holy Family: Imaging the God of relationship
Scripture for Life: Family and community are webs of relationships in which we call forth one another's humanity. More than that, family and community exhibit what it means to be in the image and like...
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December 30, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Family and community are webs of relationships in which we call forth one another's humanity. More than that, family and community exhibit what it means to be in the image and likeness of our Trinitarian God.
For migrants, returning to the story of Jesus' birth is not just a devotional gesture, but an act of memory. Christmas, read through the experience of human displacement, reveals a truth we often prefer to soften: Jesus was not born at home.
Christmas is a child born in transit
Jesus does not merely resemble today's migrants and displaced people; Jesus is with them. From his very first day, the life of the incarnate God is bound to those who have nowhere to stay.
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December 30, 2025 at 12:21 AM
For migrants, returning to the story of Jesus' birth is not just a devotional gesture, but an act of memory. Christmas, read through the experience of human displacement, reveals a truth we often prefer to soften: Jesus was not born at home.
Jesuit priests and seminarians plus some laity found the remains of two women after they scoured an 80-mile stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert in a search for migrants, living or dead, who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jesuit search for migrants finds remains of 2 women in difficult desert terrain
Jesuit priests and seminarians plus some laity found the remains of two women after they scoured an 80-mile stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert in a search for migrants, living or dead, who crossed the U...
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December 29, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Jesuit priests and seminarians plus some laity found the remains of two women after they scoured an 80-mile stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert in a search for migrants, living or dead, who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
Clergy, churches and other religious organizations wrestle with how to mark one of the most important Christian holidays while also serving an immigrant population in crisis.
Churches deliver Christmas to immigrants detained, deported and in hiding
Clergy, churches and other religious organizations wrestle with how to mark one of the most important Christian holidays while also serving an immigrant population in crisis.
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December 29, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Clergy, churches and other religious organizations wrestle with how to mark one of the most important Christian holidays while also serving an immigrant population in crisis.
"If he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and the oppressed, then the world would change,'' the pope said.
Pope Leo XIV urges the faithful on Christmas to shed indifference in the face of suffering
Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message urged the faithful to shed indifference in the face of those who have lost everything, such as in Gaza, those who are impoverished, such as in Yemen...
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December 29, 2025 at 9:33 PM
"If he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and the oppressed, then the world would change,'' the pope said.
If people refuse to make room for others — like the poor, children and the stranger — then they also refuse to make room for God, Pope Leo XIV said as he celebrated the birth of Jesus.
To turn away others is to turn away God, pope says on Christmas Eve
If people refuse to make room for others — like the poor, children and the stranger — then they also refuse to make room for God, Pope Leo XIV said as he celebrated the birth of Jesus.
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December 29, 2025 at 8:42 PM
If people refuse to make room for others — like the poor, children and the stranger — then they also refuse to make room for God, Pope Leo XIV said as he celebrated the birth of Jesus.
Bishop Michael Martin wrote that his guidelines are to strengthen unity in worship, uphold the church's liturgical norms and encourage active participation by the faithful.
In pastoral letter, Charlotte's Bishop Martin ends altar rails for holy Communion
Bishop Michael Martin wrote that his guidelines are to strengthen unity in worship, uphold the church's liturgical norms and encourage active participation by the faithful.
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December 29, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Bishop Michael Martin wrote that his guidelines are to strengthen unity in worship, uphold the church's liturgical norms and encourage active participation by the faithful.
Only God's grace can close the infinite distance between us and God, and that is precisely what God did at Christmas.
Let's reclaim the gift of Christmas
"Only God's grace can close the infinite distance between us and God, and that is precisely what God did at Christmas," writes NCR's Michael Sean Winters.
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December 29, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Only God's grace can close the infinite distance between us and God, and that is precisely what God did at Christmas.
"Playing havoc with Leo's appointment to replace Dolan looks like a disruptive move by those who realize that the U.S. church is at last aligning with Francis' and Leo's priorities," writes Steven P. Millies.
Why the news leak about New York's change in archbishops should trouble Catholics
"Playing havoc with Leo's appointment to replace Dolan looks like a disruptive move by those who realize that the U.S. church is at last aligning with Francis' and Leo's priorities," writes Steven P. ...
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December 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
"Playing havoc with Leo's appointment to replace Dolan looks like a disruptive move by those who realize that the U.S. church is at last aligning with Francis' and Leo's priorities," writes Steven P. Millies.
Arguably, the biggest story for the U.S. church this year was not the selection of Pope Leo XIV so much as the selection of new archbishops, which began when he was still a cardinal leading the Dicastery for Bishops.
Looking back at 2025 in the life of the church
Arguably, the biggest story for the U.S. church this year was not the selection of Pope Leo XIV so much as the selection of new archbishops, which began when he was still a cardinal leading the Dicast...
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December 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Arguably, the biggest story for the U.S. church this year was not the selection of Pope Leo XIV so much as the selection of new archbishops, which began when he was still a cardinal leading the Dicastery for Bishops.
In the shadow of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, more than 200 people from both countries participated in a traditional yuletide procession reenacting the search for shelter where Jesus could be born.
Posada at the US-Mexico border highlights plight of migrants
In the shadow of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, more than 200 people from both countries participated in a traditional yuletide procession reenacting the search for shelter where Jesus could be born.
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December 29, 2025 at 3:09 PM
In the shadow of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, more than 200 people from both countries participated in a traditional yuletide procession reenacting the search for shelter where Jesus could be born.
NCR's 10 most-read news stories of 2025 include coverage of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, massive aid cuts by the Trump administration, Detroit's archbishop firing three theologians, and more.
A new pope, legacy of Francis: NCR's top 10 news stories of 2025
NCR's 10 most-read news stories of 2025 include coverage of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, massive aid cuts by the Trump administration, Detroit's archbishop firing three theologians, and mor...
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December 29, 2025 at 2:16 PM
NCR's 10 most-read news stories of 2025 include coverage of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, massive aid cuts by the Trump administration, Detroit's archbishop firing three theologians, and more.