A miniature of a red heifer is seen in the lower margin illustrating a liturgical poem in Hebrew for Shabbat Parah, 1349. (Picryl)
Viewpoints

With the red heifer ceremony, God purifies the people through the earth

EarthBeat

The red heifer has been in the news, with rumors that the ancient ceremony from Scripture will be revived. Like the wild ox, this sacrifice emphasizes power and life, and works to restore wholeness to the community.

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Focus

pile of empty plastic bottles

In Focus

A world of plastic: A Chicago pastor's Earth Day message

Undoubtedly the widespread use of plastic has made life easier and made many products less expensive and therefore within the reach of more people. The problem is that plastic is not good for our planet.

Most Read Stories

Pope Francis greets Bishop Robert Gruss of Saginaw, Mich., during a meeting with U.S. bishops from Ohio and Michigan making their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican Dec. 10, 2019.

#1
Michigan bishop calls Biden 'stupid' Catholic who doesn't understand faith

A Catholic bishop in Michigan vilified President Joe Biden as a "stupid" Catholic "who is not living the life Jesus wants for him" during an April 5 presentation after a celebration of daily Mass.

ByBrian Fraga
Cardinal Christophe Pierre, nuncio to the United States, vests Las Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas with the Pallium during a Mass for elevating the Diocese of Las Vegas to an archdiocese at the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer Oct. 16, 2023, in Las Vegas. (OSV News/ Archdiocese of Las Vegas/Robin Jerstad)
NCR Voices

#2
Growth and decline in the US Catholic Church

Catholicism is still the largest denomination in the country, but the ethnic and geographic distribution of the Catholic population has changed.

ByMichael Sean Winters
Protestors assemble outside stone church with pride flags

#3
Catholic priest resigns from Michigan church following protests over his criticism of a gay author

ByThe Associated Press

#4
Conservative Christians just lost their scholarly trump card on same-sex relationships

#5
What did Pope Francis really think about Benedict XVI?

#6
'Christian nationalism' is opposed to Catholic teaching

Opinion

Catholic students, theologians, ministers write an open letter to Pope Francis

Guest Voices

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton: When failing to succeed is success

NCR Voices
Rows of school desks and chairs (Unsplash/MChe)

Consult the faithful on ministerial covenants for Catholic school teachers

Guest Voices

When determining covenantal expectations for Catholic school educators — including what "conduct or lifestyles" should be grounds for termination — bishops should listen to the faithful.

Archbishop Gänswein, Germany's most controversial Catholic prelate, remains unemployed

Guest Voices

The church is right to fight assisted suicide laws

NCR Voices
Pallbearers accompany the casket of Bishop Thomas Gumbleton.

Sisters bid farewell to a beloved bishop and friend, Tom Gumbleton

Guest Voices

Sr. Christine Schenk wanted to pay her respects to Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. She found a personal and heartfelt memorial service at the motherhouse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters in Monroe, Michigan.

Vatican

Pope Francis, from wheelchair, shakes hands with audience wearing vibrant, traditional garb.
Vatican News

Faith, hope, love are antidote to pride, pope says at audience

While the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance are the marks of a righteous individual, the virtues of faith, hope and love emphasize a connection to other people fueled by belief in God and reliance on prayer, Pope Francis said.

Chuck Robbins bends to shake Pope Francis' hand
Vatican News

Pope meets head of Cisco as AI ethics pact continues to grow

Pope Francis met briefly with Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Systems — the U.S. digital communications conglomerate — after Robbins signed on to the "Rome Call for AI Ethics," a project coordinated by the Pontifical Academy for Life.

ByCindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Francis, the comic strip: Brother Leo and Gabby discuss the risky trips taken by Francis.
Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip: Brother Leo and Gabby discuss the risky trips taken by Francis.

ByPat Marrin
Anna Rowlands, a professor of Catholic social thought and practice at Durham University in England, gives a theological reflection as the assembly of the Synod of Bishops begins work on its section section, communion, in this screengrab from Oct. 9, 2023, in the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall. (CNS/YouTube/Vatican Media)
Vatican News

Synod adviser: Pope Francis more interested in big discussions than specific issues

Theologian Anna Rowlands, a key synod adviser, says Pope Francis is more interested in deepening the practice of synodality within the Catholic Church rather than wading into debates over the hot-button issues.

ByChristopher White

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vatican News

Pope's US ambassador calls American Catholic Church a 'paradox,' self-referential

Vatican News

A better world can't be built 'lying on the couch,' pope tells children

Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip

A miniature of a red heifer is seen in the lower margin illustrating a liturgical poem in Hebrew for Shabbat Parah, 1349. (Picryl)
Viewpoints

With the red heifer ceremony, God purifies the people through the earth

The red heifer has been in the news, with rumors that the ancient ceremony from Scripture will be revived. Like the wild ox, this sacrifice emphasizes power and life, and works to restore wholeness to the community.

Young girl and family gather water from stream
Justice

How clean water and faith go hand in hand

Water purifies and blesses in every religion. But it is more than a symbol: Clean water is a conduit of care and love.

BySusan Barnett, Religion News Service
People wearing indigenous garb and ornamentation march in street; one person holds sign reading 'Brazil is Indigenous Land'.
Justice

Brazil's bishops alarmed over growing number of land disputes under Lula's government

The number of conflicts over land, water or forest territories grew in Brazil in 2023, reaching 2,203 cases and impacting more than 950,000 people, according to the bishops' conference's Land Pastoral Commission.

ByEduardo Campos Lima, OSV News
Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, center, speaks at press conference. With him are Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, announces a net-zero initiative. With him are Adam Edelen (right), founder and CEO of Edelen Renewables, and Joshua Van Cleef (left).
Faith

Lexington Diocese, in heart of coal country, commits to net-zero emissions

The Lexington Diocese's commitment to net-zero carbon emissions is one of the boldest responses to climate change to date from the U.S. Catholic Church — and it comes from coal country.

ByBrian Roewe

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Faith

Saving the Earth requires new images of God, says feminist theologian Elizabeth Johnson

Faith

Ave Maria professor: Earth Day needs Catholics' full engagement and hopeful vision

In Vietnam province, sisters teach how to adapt to climate change

Culture

Pope Francis prays during the Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord's Passion in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 29. (CNS/Vatican Media)
Book Reviews

New book takes readers 'On Retreat With Pope Francis'

Book review: In First Belong to God: On Retreat With Pope Francis, Austen Ivereigh offers a retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and delivering a compelling summary of Pope Francis' theology.

Regina King stars as Shirley Chisholm in a screenshot from the trailer for "Shirley" (NCR screenshot/YouTube/Netflix)

Regina King stands out in uneven biopic about political trailblazer Shirley Chisholm

"Shirley" could have been better, muses critic Chris Byrd, but it is doubtful that Regina King could be.

ByChris Byrd
President Ronald Reagan gives a press conference in the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., June 16, 1981. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
Book Reviews

'Righting the American Dream' spotlights lingering damage of Reagan presidency

Righting the American Dream: How the Media Mainstreamed Reagan's Evangelical Vision by Diane Winston is a measured and meticulously detailed account of the Reagan era and its significance for today.

ByTom Roberts
Pope Francis touches the death wall at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, in this July 29, 2016, file photo.
Book Reviews

Rabbi finds hope, comfort in new book by his friend, Pope Francis

Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Pope Francis have studied and grieved the Holocaust together many times, but the pope's new memoir offered Skorka fresh insight into why they share a special concern about this painful issue. 

ByAbraham Skorka

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India's hit film 'Manjummel Boys' tells a resurrection story

'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' contains surprising Easter wisdom

Book Reviews

'Struggle for Racial Justice' urges Catholic conversions of hearts and minds

Hand holding a compass (Unsplash/Frames For Your Heart)

Where did all the Sisters go? GSR's stories answer the question.

It has been difficult to spread the word about who religious are and what they are involved in. There were always sporadic articles, newspaper stories, but nothing consistent until Global Sisters Report became a reality.

Pope Francis shares a laugh with officers of the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious during a meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican March 21, 2024.

'It's a different time': Relations between US sisters, Vatican have changed radically

The apostolic visitation and doctrinal assessment were controversial, but 10 years after those tense times, sisters say their relationship with officials in Rome is radically different. 

ByDan Stockman
(Unsplash/Rodion Kutsaiev (bottom left); Peter Werkman (top left); Judy Zielinski (courtesy of Judy Zielinski)

Q&A with Judy Zielinski, on how sisters can continue to be the salt and light

"I think the diminishment we are facing is almost forcing us to look around at each other, and as we have said in my community, 'This is who we are. This is all we've got.' "

ByJennifer Vosters
Person writing in notebook

GSR is a blessing in my journey as a missionary

GSR has become a close-knit and expansive community where we feel like sisters, united in weaving the dream of a shared prophetic mission and a passion for communicating life in all its dimensions.

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Arlington Carmelites file restraining order request on bishop, diocese

Sisters bid farewell to a beloved bishop and friend, Tom Gumbleton

Writing for GSR lets me find the extraordinary in the ordinary

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