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Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets visitors and pilgrims from the popemobile as he rides around St. Peter's Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience Sept. 17, 2025. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

Leo's embrace of Francis' LGBTQ+ acceptance follows surprising new study on priests

Vatican

A new study found that priests who approve of Pope Francis are more likely to adopt a pastoral approach to LGBTQ+ Catholics. Could the same dynamic take hold under Pope Leo?

Editors' Choice

Onlookers at the site of an image some believe to represent the Virgin Mary in April 2005, days after it was first spotted. (Chicago Sun-Times file photo)

In Focus

Whatever happened to Chicago's 'Our Lady of the Underpass'?

The Northwest Side woman who first spotted the marking on the Fullerton Avenue underpass wall in 2005 says it helped change her life. It's still there but tough to make out these days.

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Most Read Stories

Pope Leo XIV looks out to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican as he leads the midday recitation of the “Regina Coeli” prayer for the first time May 11, 2025. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

#1
Pope Leo's official portrait breaks conventions in papal imagery

Pope Leo's official portrait is worth a second look, for it represents a radical departure in the way a pope presents himself. 

ByJim McDermott
Pope Leo XIV speaks with Elise Ann Allen of Crux on July 30, 2025. (Crux photo)

#2
Pope Leo's 1st formal interview: Wage inequality, Elon Musk, peace and polarization

Pope Leo XIV decried economic inequality between rank-and-file workers and corporate titans, according to transcripts from his first formal interview with a journalist since ascending to the papacy.

ByJustin McLellan
Carlo Acutis souvenirs are displayed in a shop window in Assisi, Italy, in June 2023. (RNS/Michael Di Giovine, CC BY)

#3
Relic of the Catholic Church's first millennial saint stolen from Venezuelan parish

A relic of Carlo Acutis, who was declared the Catholic Church's first millennial saint last week, was stolen from a parish in western Venezuela, the coordinator of a youth group devoted to the man known as "God's Influencer" confirmed Friday.

ByAssociated Press

#4
Bishop Barron paints Charlie Kirk as Christlike. That's not based in reality.

#5
Charlie Kirk's murder is a wound inflicted on our shared humanity

#6
Bishop Barron praises late controversial activist Charlie Kirk after fatal shooting

Opinion

Your letters: Charlie Kirk, Bishop Barron and church reform

American Catholicism at the crossroads in the face of rising political violence

Guest Voices
A reader holds folded hands on top of an open Bible that lays on a wooden surface. (Unsplash/Jametlene Reskp)

Trying to pray during the horrors of our current moment

Dan Horan reviews theologian Hanna Reichel's For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional, a book that arrived by sheer coincidence of timing, or direct act of divine providence, an answer to unspoken prayers.

Fracking will invade, violate, pollute our land, says West Virginia Catholic sister

Columns

Bishop Barron paints Charlie Kirk as Christlike. That's not based in reality.

Guest Voices
U.S. Rep Emanuel Cleaver walks through the Missouri candidate filing process in February 2024. (Missouri Independent/Annelise Hanshaw)

Missouri Republicans invoke Christian values to gerrymander out a Methodist minister

Guest Voices

As Missouri joins the gerrymandering war, GOP leaders framed the effort as a godly mission. But somehow that plan means driving out of office one of only three ministers in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Vatican

Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets visitors and pilgrims from the popemobile as he rides around St. Peter's Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience Sept. 17, 2025. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

Leo's embrace of Francis' LGBTQ+ acceptance follows surprising new study on priests

A new study found that priests who approve of Pope Francis are more likely to adopt a pastoral approach to LGBTQ+ Catholics. Could the same dynamic take hold under Pope Leo?

Pope Leo XIV answers a question from Elise Allen, senior correspondent at Crux, during an interview at the pope's residence inside the Vatican's Palazzo Sant'Uffizio July 30, 2025. The biography of the pope is titled, "Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century," and it will be published in Spanish by Penguin Peru Sept. 18. English and Portuguese editions of the book will be released in early 2026. (CNS/Courtesy of Crux)
Vatican News

Pope nixes 'virtual pope' idea, explains concerns about AI

Pope Leo XIV said a proposal to create an AI-version of him so people could have a virtual audience with the pope pretty much horrified him.

ByCindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Pope Leo XIV answers a question from Elise Allen, senior correspondent at Crux, during an interview at the pope's residence inside the Vatican's Palazzo Sant'Uffizio July 30, 2025. The biography of the pope is titled, "Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century," and it will be published in Spanish by Penguin Peru Sept. 18. English and Portuguese editions of the book will be released in early 2026. (CNS/Courtesy of Crux)
Vatican News

In interview, Pope Leo urges US bishops to engage Trump, discusses Gaza, abuse and LGBTQ+ issues

Pope Leo XIV called on U.S. bishops to take the lead in actively engaging President Donald Trump, and said his nationality gives him more sway among an American episcopate that was often at odds with his predecessor.

ByJustin McLellan
Vatican News

Pope tells new US ambassador he is praying for Charlie Kirk and his family

Pope Leo XIV told the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See that he is praying for Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist assassinated in Utah last week, as well as his wife and children, the Vatican spokesman said Tuesday.

ByAssociated Press

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Relentless effort, quick action are not always the answer, pope says

Palestinians are living in 'unacceptable' conditions, pope says

Pope phones Gaza parish as Israeli launches new offensive on city

EarthBeat

The property of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Wheeling, West Virginia (Courtesy of Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph)
Columns

Fracking will invade, violate, pollute our land, says West Virginia Catholic sister

For decades, the Sisters of St. Joseph refused to lease land to gas companies. Now they have no choice. A new West Virginia law allows fracking against a landowner's wishes if enough neighbors agree to fracking on their land.

Vatican News

Theology must address climate change, AI, other real concerns, pope says

Because "true knowledge of God is realized in a life transformed by love," the Catholic Church needs theologians whose pursuit of understanding is framed by care for the real concerns of modern men and women, Pope Leo XIV said.

ByCindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Late evening sun illuminates rock formations at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 23, 2020. (OSV News/Bob Roller)

You don't have to be a superhero to honor the Season of Creation

None of us individually is going to save the world. But each of us can do something. And here's something that's one of the world's largest sources of microplastic pollution and energy waste. I'm talking about clothes.

ByEffie Caldarola, OSV News
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, speaks at an event in Athens, Greece on May 8, 2025. (AP photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

Orthodox patriarch visits US to meet with Trump, receive award for environmental work

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is making his first visit in four years to the United States, where he was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump and receive honors for his environmental advocacy.

ByPeter Smith, The Associated Press

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

As Africa prepares for COP30, its Catholic bishops urge African solutions on climate

Messages that mobilize: How to convince church leadership to take climate action

Catholic networks: Push for profits, power threaten peace, climate justice

Culture

Each episode of "The Pitt" follows one single hour of the same day, as the staff at the emergency room of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center deal with bureaucratic, medical and personal issues. (Warrick Page/HBO Max)

Binge-watching 'The Pitt' with COVID was a deeply consoling experience

Jose Solís wasn't a big fan of medical dramas when he turned on HBO Max's 'The Pitt.' But not only did it hold his attention through 104° fever and extreme fatigue, he found himself deeply consoled by it as well.

For some Dobson kids, focusing on the family led to estrangement

These days, Focus on the Family is offering a new kind of parenting advice, this time tailored for parents whose adult kids have gone 'no contact.'

ByKathryn Post, Religion News Service
Morgan Spector plays George Russell, an amalgam of Cornelius Vanderbilt and his grandson William in HBO's "The Gilded Age." (HBO/Karolina Wojtasik)

'The Gilded Age' asks us to sympathize with the class that's destroying us

HBO's popular costume drama series "The Gilded Age" asks us to sympathize with people much like those currently running our country into the ground, writes Jim McDermott.

ByJim McDermott
In her new book, Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter, America magazine's Colleen Dulle opens up about her own disillusionment with the institutional church throughout her tenure as a reporter – and why and how she's stayed Catholic despite the often devastating disappointments. (Chris Geerdes)
Book Reviews

Q&A with Colleen Dulle on keeping the faith when the church disappoints

In her new book, Colleen Dulle opens up about her disillusionment with the institutional church throughout her tenure as a Vatican reporter — and why and how she has stayed Catholic despite devastating disappointments.

ByOlivia Bardo

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

In 2025, the 'immortal' Henrietta Lacks is still receiving her due

The many faces of the movie nun

Seth Worley on directing 'Sketch' and empowering kids to make art out of pain

Courtyard surrounded by open arched windows

The urgent need for systematic safeguarding in religious communities

Religious communities cannot claim moral authority while failing to protect their own members from harm.

Child's drawing shows cat and the word love.
Columns

A little child shall lead them to build bridges of art and hope

We are inviting young people everywhere to create: to express, to heal, to unite, to hope and to grow together. 

By
Sr. Ruth Kuyumba, right, engages Memory Musonda and her son Joshua in a conversation during a home visit. Sr. Agnes Kateule, left, uses sign language to communicate with Joshua. Memory and Joshua were beneficiaries of the recently defunded Inclusive Family Strengthening project, formerly managed by the Sisters of Mercy with support from Catholic Relief Services. (Derrick Silimina)

Inclusive Family Strengthening project, now defunded, bolstered women in Zambia

"We recorded over 200 success stories," says Mercy Sr. Ruth Kuyumba, former coordinator of the project, which "also promoted fathers' participation in parenting and ensured every child has a home to grow up in."

By
Musical notes (Unsplash/tengyart)
Columns

Benedictine monasteries take me on a deep dive into the Psalms

One marvelous aspect of visiting Benedictine monasteries is seeing how each crafts its own unique version of the Liturgy of the Hours. An added adventure for Sr. Julie Ferraro has been helping update those books.

ByJulie A. Ferraro

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Cultural awareness matters in assessing candidates for religious life

When memories disappear, friendships remain

Kenya nuns condemn assault by sister captured on viral video