Posted inVatican Dispatch

Pope Leo issues challenge to cardinals gathered in Rome: ‘Learn synodality by practicing it’

by Gerard O’Connell June 26, 2026

Pope Leo speaks June 26, 2026, at the opening of an extraordinary consistory of cardinals in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican June 26-27. Credit: OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV surprised the College of Cardinals in his opening address to the second extraordinary consistory of his papacy on the morning of June 26 when he told them, “I wish to ask you for your help.”

Saying that “the ministry which the Lord has entrusted to me cannot be carried out alone,” he added: “It requires your experience, your pastoral wisdom and your knowledge of the churches and of the peoples entrusted to you.”

“I am counting on you to help me discern what the Spirit is saying to the church today. I need your support: strong, explicit and public. I need to feel sustained by you, as by brothers,” he said.

Podcast: 'Nonviolence is the only way to not be at war with God,' says Lisa Sharon Harper

 

June 29, 2026

Podcast: 'Nonviolence is the only way to not be at war with God,' says Lisa Sharon Harper

John Dear  ncr

Fighting over the foundations of moral theology

 

NCR Voices

Opinion

Fighting over the foundations of moral theology

Michael Sean Winters  ncr

 

The Supreme Court’s Immigration Rulings Reveal a Profound Moral Failure

by The Editors June 26, 2026

Migrants from Haiti near Huixtla, Mexico, are pictured in a file photo walking in a caravan heading to the U.S. border. Credit: OSV News photo/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters

The hostility to immigrants enabled by yesterday’s Supreme Court decisions marks a profound moral failure in the American understanding of our national heritage. The court handed down two decisions in immigration cases that validate executive powers to reject and deport immigrants from the United States, no matter how terrible the outcomes or how xenophobic the executive’s motives. 

Pope Leo closes consistory with appeal for peace, continued emphasis on synodality

Pope Leo closes consistory with appeal for peace, continued emphasis on synodality

by Gerard O’Connell June 27, 2026

Pope Leo speaks June 26, 2026, at the opening of an extraordinary consistory of cardinals in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican June 26-27.

Pope Leo XIV concluded the second extraordinary consistory of his pontificate on the evening of June 27 by joining with the College of Cardinals in a unanimous appeal for peace in the world. “God desires peace for every nation and every people,” he said.

“We must not resign ourselves to violence. Violence will not have the last word. God continues to open paths of reconciliation and peace throughout history. We have a responsibility to walk these paths with courage and to help the world recognize them.”

Cardinals weigh replacing 'just war' language with 'proportional defense'

Cardinals weigh replacing 'just war' language with 'proportional defense'

Justin McLellan  ncr

 

AI has no place in the parish bulletin

 

In the Pews

AI has no place in the parish bulletin

John T. Grosso  us catholic

 

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Posted inFaith in Focus

Linwood’s Last Hurrah: A beloved retreat house closes its doors

by Brigid McCabe June 25, 2026

The front entrance to Linwood Spiritual Center Credit: Brigid McCabe

It was a Monday in November, and I was making s’mores with Sister Mary Dolan. Despite the group of teenage girls chatting and laughing around her, Sister Mary, as she was known to the students, looked as serene as always while standing in front of the firepit’s glow. When she stepped back and turned toward me, the marshmallows she was roasting were perfectly golden.

“The trick is patience,” she told me as we admired her handiwork. “You can’t get impatient.”

I recognized a familiar sentiment behind her advice: Do every little thing well, so the big things have strong foundations. This was how things were done at Notre Dame School of Manhattan, my high school alma mater, and the place where I first met Sister Mary and her fellow sisters of the Society of St. Ursula, the congregation that had founded the school.