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2 conservative groups influence US Catholic transgender policies

News

 Amid debates about transgender rights, two conservative Catholic groups have played a consequential but often undisclosed role. NCR looks at the Person and Identity Project and The Cardinal Newman Society.

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Focus

Pope Francis greets people as he rides the popemobile around St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 25. Francis sent a brief letter to Drachma Parents April 30, responding to their criticism of a Vatican document that condemned gender theory and gender-affirming surgeries. Their original letter to Francis was dated April 23. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

In Focus

Pope responds with 'open heart' to Vatican document criticism from parents of LGBTQ children

Pope Francis has written to a group of parents of LGBTQ persons, responding to their criticism of a Vatican document that condemned gender theory and gender-affirming surgeries. He told them he received their critique with an "open heart."

Most Read Stories

A man prays near a statue of Mary on Apparition Hill in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in this Oct., 8, 2010, file photo. Pope Francis has decided to allow parishes and dioceses to organize official pilgrimages to Medjugorje; no decision has been made on the authenticity of the apparitions. (CNS photo/Matko Biljak, Reuters)
Vatican News

#1
Vatican cracks down on 'supernatural' occurrences in new apparition rules

In a new crackdown aimed to prevent scams, hoaxes and heresies, the Vatican has updated its guidelines for reviewing apparitions, visions and alleged revelations, and reaffirmed that only a pope could formally deem something to be "supernatural."

ByChristopher White
Word on Fire, a media organization led by Bishop Robert Barron, has sent a second letter to a Commonweal magazine, threatening again to sue the outlet and one of its contributors. Screengrabs of both letters are included in this graphic. (NCR graphic)

#2
Bishop Barron's Word on Fire again threatens Commonweal over article about Trumpism

Word on Fire, a nonprofit founded by Bishop Robert Barron, has again threatened Commonweal magazine over an article that questioned how Barron and his organization have engaged with former President Donald Trump's political movement.

ByBrian Fraga
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker addresses the 2023 graduating class at Georgia Institute of Technology's commencement ceremonies.
Guest Voices

#3
'Stay in your lane!' says KC football player far outside his lane

After Harrison Butker, outspoken Catholic and kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, delivered a  controversial commencement speech, Madison Chastain suggests he take his own oft-delivered advice and stay in his own lane.

ByMadison Chastain

#4
Editorial: Is the US church really taking 'a step back in time'?

#5
New York's St. Francis Xavier redefines acceptance in the Catholic Church

#6
Catholic trad wives pose a formidable political and religious force

Opinion

If there is an Israel-Hamas cease-fire, unarmed civilian protectors should be sent in

Guest Voices

Key takeaways from bishops' discussion about overcoming polarization

NCR Voices
Confirmation candidate Ayden Morocho kneels in prayer as his sponsor, Grace Esposito, stands behind him during a confirmation Mass on May 5, 2022, at Holy Family Church in Queens, New York. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Dear bishops, please stop quizzing confirmands at their confirmation

Guest Voices

Confirmation is not itself a test, writes Jim McDermott. It is a liturgy, a moment in which we ask the Holy Spirit to come down and fill the hearts of the confirmands.

Catholic trad wives pose a formidable political and religious force

Guest Voices

Your Letters: the Cass Report, JFK and Biden, Bishop Barron

Letters to the Editor
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker addresses the 2023 graduating class at Georgia Institute of Technology's commencement ceremonies.

'Stay in your lane!' says KC football player far outside his lane

Guest Voices

After Harrison Butker, outspoken Catholic and kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, delivered a  controversial commencement speech, Madison Chastain suggests he take his own oft-delivered advice and stay in his own lane.

Vatican

Pope Francis seen on screen in front of large seated assembly.
Vatican News

Vatican makes fresh overture to China, reaffirms that Catholic Church is no threat to sovereignty

The Vatican made another big overture to China on Tuesday, reaffirming the Catholic Church poses no threat to Beijing's sovereignty and admitting that Western missionaries had made “errors” in past centuries in their zeal to convert the Chinese faithful.

Pope Francis greets Norah O'Donnell before an exclusive interview with the "CBS Evening News" anchor at the Vatican April 24 for an interview.
Vatican News

Pope Francis voices firm opposition to women deacons in CBS interview

Pope Francis expressed firm opposition to the idea of ordaining Catholic women as deacons in a new U.S. television interview, raising doubts that the ongoing three-year synodal process could move forward on the issue.

ByChristopher White
Ever notice how Pope Francis handles hard questions in interviews?
Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip: Ever notice how Pope Francis handles hard questions in interviews?

ByPat Marrin
Pope Francis and Norah O'Donnell seated opposite one another, with painting and draped windows in background.
Vatican News

In '60 Minutes' interview, pope clarifies same-sex blessings, speaks out against war, says clergy abuse can 'not be tolerated'

The pope spoke with CBS journalist Norah O'Donnell April 24 at his residence, Casa Santa Marta. A roughly 13-minute portion of the interview aired May 19 on the newsmagazine "60 Minutes," with the balance of the session being broadcast in a one-hour primetime special May 20.

ByGina Christian, OSV News

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Vatican News

Vietnam-Vatican working group hold first meeting since new agreement

Vatican News

Holy Spirit respects differences, creates harmony, pope says in Verona

Vatican News

Holy Spirit makes Christians gentle, not 'overbearing,' pope says

Combine feeds wheat into semi-truck trailer.
Politics

Catholic aid group weighs in on House, Senate committees' dueling farm bills

Lawmakers on the House and Senate agriculture committees released differing frameworks for the 2024 farm bill, with one version praised by a Catholic aid group.

Pope Francis greets Norah O'Donnell before an exclusive interview with the "CBS Evening News" anchor April 24 at the Vatican, for an interview ahead of the Vatican's inaugural World Children's Day. (OSV News/Courtesy of CBS NEWS)
Faith

In CBS interview, Francis calls climate change 'a road to death,' chastises 'foolish' deniers

Climate change presents the world with "a road to death," Pope Francis said in a CBS interview. He affirmed that protecting the planet is a top global priority and chastised global warming deniers as "foolish people."

ByBrian Roewe
Chapel seen amidst trees, maintenance worker seen in bottom right corner.

Landslide forces closure of iconic Southern California chapel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's son

A decades-old landslide that’s rapidly accelerating has forced the dismantling of Wayfarers Chapel, an iconic Southern California church that was designed by one of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright's sons and built among soaring redwoods and sweeping Pacific Ocean views.

ByStefanie Dazio, Associated Press
Esperanza Guerrero, 35, fills a glass full with water from her tap in Teviston, California, U.S., October 20, 2021. The town had advised not to drink the water but only use it for washing dishes and washing clothes due to contamination. Approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide (including 46 million Americans) don't have regular access to clean water -- a right Pope Francis outlined in Laudato Si'. (OSV News photo/Stephanie Keith, Reuters)
Politics

New EPA drinking water standards may help US ensure access to safe water

Approximately 46 million Americans don't have regular access to clean water. On April 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standards to protect Americans from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals."

ByKimberley Heatherington, OSV News

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Viewpoints

We are all called to be contemplative. Our planet needs it.

Viewpoints

Sometimes I need to tell the story to remind me of who I am

Faith

Church members help people displaced by Brazil floods, form solidarity networks for assistance

Culture

A panel from the first issue of the "Bad Catholics, Good Trouble" webcomic. (Black Catholic Messenger/Marcus Jimenez)

Webcomic probes U.S. Catholic stories of race, resistance and social justice

Matthew Cressler's vision for an accessible throughway to the nation's thorny history of race and religion has resulted in a uniquely modern initiative.

Aubrey Gordon in the documentary film "Your Fat Friend" (NCR screenshot/YouTube/Jeanie Finlay)

New documentary 'Your Fat Friend' explores acceptance of body diversity

Aubrey Gordon is a self-proclaimed "fact acceptance activist" and the subject of a new documentary, "Your Fat Friend." Her philosophy, says reviewer Liz Charlotte Grant, aligns with the words of Scripture.

ByLiz Charlotte Grant
A bust at China's Nihewan Museum celebrating Jesuit Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin overlooks the vast valley still under excavation.

New Teilhard de Chardin film produces thoughtful, inspiring biography

"Teilhard: Visionary Scientist," which debuts on Maryland PBS May 19, creates "the portrait of a man who was at once prophet, priest, Jesuit, scientist and mystic," writes Sr. Rose Pacatte. 

ByRose Pacatte
The Gordon B. Lankton Gallery located in the upper level of the Icon Museum and Study Center in Clinton, Massachusetts, the only museum in the United States devoted to icons and Eastern Christian art. (Michael Centore)

Icon Museum and Study Center fosters spiritual and aesthetic contemplation

The Icon Museum and Study Center is a U.S. museum devoted to icons and Eastern Christian art. Walking through the galleries spread over three levels was as much a prayerful experience as an aesthetic one.

ByMichael Centore

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Book Reviews

New book celebrates 'revolution of tenderness' mother artists create

Film on Oblate Sisters of Providence's Cuban ministry now streaming

New film 'Irena's Vow' highlights the bravery of a historical Catholic figure

Sr. Marjory Mwansa sits in her office

Q&A with Sr. Marjory Mwansa, breaking ground in orthopedic care in Zambia

Sr. Marjory Mwansa, a physiotherapist administrator at St. John Paul II Mission Orthopaedic Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, said the state-of-the-art medical facility is a beacon of hope for children with disabilities.

Carol Ntaulo and her 3-year-old daughter, Besa (Courtesy of Matilda Mubanga)

St. Thomas Mission Hospital joins the struggle to curb cholera in Zambia

At their hospital in a remote rural area of Chibombo district, the Daughters of the Redeemer began noticing increased cholera cases when people returned from trips to Lusaka, the epicenter of the disease in Zambia.

By
The exterior of St. Benedict's Abbey is pictured in Atchison Kansas.

Monday Starter: Benedictine sisters denounce remarks by NFL's Butker

The Benedictine sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, who co-founded and co-sponsor Benedictine College, have joined the chorus of voices denouncing remarks made by commencement speaker Harrison Butker.

ByRhina Guidos, Dan Stockman
Night sky full of stars viewed through tree branches (Unsplash/Nathan Anderson)
Viewpoints

Sometimes I need to tell the story to remind me of who I am

Trusting the energy of the adventure, I encountered the Holy Spirit "renewing the face of the Earth," teaching us how to live sustainably with the billions of years of development found in soil, sea and stars.

By

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

GSR, NCR honored with Associated Church Press awards

In El Salvador, historical memory brings together generations to prevent future atrocities

How do we exclaim the joy of the Gospel?

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