World News

Pope Leo XIV received representatives of an organization of Italian labor consultants and reflected on “three aspects that I consider particularly important: the protection of human dignity, mediation, and the promotion of safety.” “At the center of any work dynamic there should be neither capital, nor market laws, nor profit, but the person, ... read more

‘Hollywood Sign’ The Best In Catholic Blogging ... read more

Volunteers with Christmas Commandos wrapping Christmas gifts. (Image: Christmas Commandos / www.christmascommandos.org) They arrive in the dark of night to give Christmas joy to grieving families who have suffered unimaginable losses. Quietly, they leave gifts, decorate trees and walkways, and then depart, hopefully undetected. The Christmas Commandos, as they are called, have been ... read more

Letters to the editor: NCR readers respond to articles about Fr. Gary Graf, a Pew study on religious disaffiliation and American impediments to Christian healthcare.   ... read more

Twice recently Pope Leo XIV has brought up a book that spells out his spiritual MO. The short book, The Practice of the Presence of God by 17th-century lay Carmelite Brother Lawrence, seems to pack a spiritual punch. ... read more

From the moment he arrived in El Salvador to work with Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, a program for underprivileged children, "Padre Ron," now archbishop-elect of New York, seemed to fit in, recalls a former colleague. ... read more

The Catholic Church, especially its insistence on human dignity, is a bulwark against the ambitions of tyrants. Catholics across the political spectrum should embrace religious liberty as the foundational right that it is. ... read more

President Isaac Herzog of Israel called Pope Leo XIV on the afternoon of December 17 to extend his Christmas greetings. During the call, which took place three days after the Bondi Beach shooting, Pope Leo “reiterated the Catholic Church’s firm condemnation of all forms of antisemitism,” according to a statement from the Holy See Press ... read more

Blessed Pope Urban V Feast date: Dec 19 Blessed Pope Urban V was born Guillaume de Grimoard at Grisac in Languedoc, 1310. He studied canon law and theology in Avignon and became a Benedictine monk. He was named abbot of his monastery in 1352, and served as a papal diplomat and was ... read more

Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, the retired head of the Albany, New York diocese, has filed for personal bankruptcy, after a court decision found him personally liable for the failure of a pension fund that left more than 1,000 diocesan employees without retirement benefits. A jury verdict awarded a $54 million judgment to claimants in the case, ... read more

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,there was a priest named Zechariahof the priestly division of Abijah;his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,and her name was Elizabeth.Both were righteous in the eyes of God,observing all the commandmentsand ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barrenand both were advanced ... read more

This is the business of our life: by labor and prayer to advance in the grace of God, till we come to that height of perfection in which, with clean hearts, we may behold God. — St. Augustine ... read more

One of the things I love about Christmas being celebrated for an octave (or twelve days, or right up until the February 2 Presentation of the Lord if you’re diehard) is that it takes the pressure off December 25th to be the one and only possible day to experience Christmas joy.   Pope Francis speaks ... read more

Today is the Third of the O Antiphons, O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse). Christ the King, the Lord! Divine Wisdom, Adonai, the powerful God, is at the same time man with flesh and blood of the house of Jesse, the father of King David. Truly, the right of kingship has now passed from ... read more

Here we have another extract from St. John Henry Newman's series of lectures which were published as The Idea of a University, the ideas for which were developed when Newman was charged with the task of establishing a Catholic university in Ireland. The book was originally a series of lectures presented in Dublin in May ... read more