Vatican Dispatch

Vatican to German bishops: No lay people preaching homilies at Mass

by Colleen Dulle June 23, 2026

Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is pictured in a 2022 file photo. In an interview with OSV News, Cardinal Roche warned that modern culture -- especially technology and shifting ideas about identity -- can erode relationships and hinder spiritual growth. (OSV News photo/Marko Djurica, Reuters)

The Vatican has rejected a request from the German bishops for special permission (an “indult”) to allow lay men and women to preach homilies during Mass.

“Lay faithful may not preach during the celebration of the Eucharist in the place intended for the homily,” Cardinal Arthur Roche, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, wrote in a June 17 letter responding to the request.

 

Catholic Book Club

The moral witness of doctor and writer Robert Coles

by James T. Keane June 23, 2026

Robert Coles in an undated photo. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Who might we consider “the greatest moral teacher of our time”? Every country and culture surely has its own candidate, and probably most of us can volunteer our own examples from our own milieu. But some people get more votes than others, and in the U.S. context, the great peace activist Colman McCarthy’s opinion counts more than yours. On whom did he bestow the title? Robert Coles.

McCarthy obviously knew Coles, the doctor, writer, sociologist and historian who died on June 4, for many decades, as the two were frequent enough collaborators and fellow travelers in pricking the conscience of America. However, one could argue that there was a time in the United States when Robert Coles came close to a household name. Certainly the editors of America knew him well—even before he became a columnist for the magazine. 

I’m a Catholic woman who was allowed to preach at Mass—until it was banned

I’m a Catholic woman who was allowed to preach at Mass—until it was banned

by Jean Molesky-Poz July 22, 2019

iStock

Editors’ note: For another take on the question of women preaching during Mass, read “Should Catholic women preach at Mass? Here’s a better question.”

“Mary,” Jesus said to her. When she heard him call her name, she responded, “Rabbouni!” Teacher.

“Go to my brothers,” he said, delivering a direct commission to announce the “good news.”

“I have seen the Lord,” she told the disciples.

 

Can the Church Reconnect With Europe?

Leo’s travels on the continent offer signs of a new relationship.

Massimo Faggioli

June 23, 2026

Pope Leo XIV

Please email comments to letters@commonwealmagazine.org.

Pope Leo XIV greets faithful after midday prayers at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, June 9, 2026 (OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media).

If the schedule imposed by the 2025 Jubilee made Pope Leo something of a “prisoner of the Vatican,” the first half of 2026 has provided much greater opportunity to travel. The summer promises more—namely, travel to key locations for the Church on the old continent. After returning from Spain, his first multiday European trip as pope, Leo headed for Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Italy, the birthplace of St. Frances Cabrini, to be followed by Pavia, Italy, where the relics of St. Augustine are venerated. Then it’s on to Lampedusa on July 4, followed by Assisi on August 6 (for the eight-hundredth anniversary of the death of St. Francis); Rimini on August 22 (for the annual meeting of the Communion and Liberation movement); and, in late September, France. 

A Catholic schism over women deacons? Many opponents have already left

 

Opinion

A Catholic schism over women deacons? Many opponents have already left

Phyllis Zagano, Religion News Service  ncr

America's founding promise of religious freedom has long needed defense

 

America's founding promise of religious freedom has long needed defense

Opinion

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  David Mislin
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Survey: Pope Leo is very popular—though partisan polarization is growing

 Survey: Pope Leo is very popular—though partisan polarization is growing

by Aleja Hertzler-McCain - Religion News Service June 22, 2026

Pope Leo XIV arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

(RNS) — Though Pope Leo XIV still enjoys high levels of support from U.S. Catholics, partisan polarization is growing, according to a new poll released by Pew Research Center on Thursday (June 18).

About three-quarters (78%) of U.S. Catholics expressed favorable views of Leo, and 12% expressed unfavorable views. Another 9% of U.S. Catholics said they had never heard of Leo — the first pope from the U.S.

Posted inVatican Dispatch

Pope Leo: War is ‘fed more easily’ than the hungry

by Gerard O’Connell June 22, 2026

Pope Leo XIV addresses members of the United Nations' World Food Program gathered at their Rome headquarters June 22, 2026. Credit: OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media

“The world today could live without hunger,” but “conflicts are ‘fed’ more easily than people are nourished,” Pope Leo XIV said when he visited the United Nations World Food Program, the world’s largest humanitarian organization, on June 22.

Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Senator John McCain and a former executive director of W.F.P., welcomed the pope at the annual meeting of the executive board of the organization at its headquarters in Rome.