Via @bfragancr.bsky.social - Yakima, WA bishop urges federal government to release misidentified immigrant. "There was a kind of racial profiling here." #ICE #immigration www.ncronline.org/news/yakima-...

Keep asking questions, keep digging, pursue the truth without fear or favor www.ncronline.org/vatican/excl... @bfragancr.bsky.social began this investigation and @McLellan_Js went to Peru to answer questions

Via @bfragancr.bsky.social - Most US bishops offer typical statements after the Minneapolis shooting — but two Catholic leaders stand out for the forcefulness of their responses… #Minneapolis #shooting #Catholic www.ncronline.org/news/most-us...

NEW via @bfragancr.bsky.social - Archdiocese of Washington, DC, faces $50M deficit, plans layoffs #Catholic #Washington www.ncronline.org/news/archdio...

In the days leading up to the conclave, a bevy of wealthy American business leaders, philanthropists and conservative activists have descended on Rome and Vatican City to meet, fete and dine with churchmen in well-heeled settings. Read more at @ncronline.bsky.social

My coverage of today’s arguments at SCOTUS, regarding the case of a proposed Catholic charter school in Oklahoma. @ncronline.bsky.social www.ncronline.org/news/supreme...

President Trump has issued a barrage of executive actions in the first 100 days of his term, seeking to expand the scope of his presidential power. Underlying those efforts is a nonstop distortion of basic facts. Here is a fact-check of Trump’s often-repeated claims. nyti.ms/4iIyfYe

Full story on the arrest of Rev. William Barber and two others as they prayed in the U.S. Capitol today: “Just as Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers, so we have to be willing to put our bodies on the line,” Barber told me after he was released. religionnews.com/2025/04/28/w...

My story today for @ncronline.bsky.social. I’ll be covering oral arguments tomorrow at the SCOTUS. “Some legal scholars anticipate that the outcome of this case might be a landmark ruling with far-reaching consequences for the separation of church and state…” www.ncronline.org/news/us-supr...

My story today for @ncronline.bsky.social Due to frozen federal funding, at least a dozen Catholic Charities agencies from Florida to California since late January have laid off hundreds of employees. Some have begun to wind down their refugee resettlement programs.

Democrats need to flip three seats to take back the House next year – and the path to a majority likely runs through districts President Trump carried. Democrats who won alongside Trump offer their prescription for a party they say needs to make big changes.

“When I listen to Pope Francis, I can almost hear Romero speaking,” Julian Filochowski says in the article. A rock solid long read on #MonseñorRomero from @bfragancr.bsky.social here. Read, learn and enjoy! #OscarRomero #ArchbishopRomero #SanRomerodeAmérica

On this his feast day, I'm sharing this 2018 in-depth article I wrote for Our Sunday Visitor on the legacy of St. Oscar Romero. "Because he so faithfully lived out the Gospel, there is no example closer to Jesus that I can think of in recent history...." www.oursundayvisitor.com/the-miracle-...

Via Baptist News: Despite a court injunction specifically barring ICE agents from conducting raids at Cooperative Baptist Fellowship houses of worship (along with several Quaker groups and a Sikh temple), ICE agents appear to have shown up at one anyway. baptistnews.com/article/desp...

My story today for @ncronline.bsky.social Aswarm of angry, vitriolic comments on social media prompted organizers in Lexington, Kentucky, to postpone a parish event that was to feature a talk by Br. Christian Matson, a diocesan hermit who is transgender. www.ncronline.org/news/parish-...

Oh: Episcopal Diocese of Rio Grande apparently received a letter from DHS suggesting they were involved in human trafficking. In a video, Bishop Michael Hunn fervently rejects the claims and declares: "We …have been practicing our Constitutionally guaranteed faith." www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wl4...

My story today for @ncronline.bsky.social In a March 11 ruling, which the USCCB is appealing, a judge wrote that the federal courts lack the authority to order the government to honor its recently-terminated refugee resettlement contracts w/the bishops conference www.ncronline.org/news/us-bish...

Catholic refugee contracts canceled, risking life-saving aid in US and abroad | National Catholic Reporter www.ncronline.org/news/catholi... @bfragancr.bsky.social @brianroewe.bsky.social

My story today for @ncronline.bsky.social, reported w/@brianroewe.bsky.social. "The U.S. State Department has terminated contracts for refugee-related programs with the USCCB and Jesuit Refugee Service, but attorneys for the bishops called the action unlawful...." www.ncronline.org/news/catholi...

🧵 A Kentucky couple that rents a home to a family of Syrian refugee families has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' case against the Trump Administration's abrupt halt of refugee resettlement funding.

My story today for @ncronline.bsky.social The U.S. Catholic bishops' lawsuit that challenges the Trump administration's abrupt halt of refugee resettlement funding has been referred to mediation. www.ncronline.org/news/us-bish...

New w. @bfragancr.bsky.social: Jesuit Refugee Service's vital humanitarian work in 9 countries is in jeopardy, even after a judge's order to temporarily lift Trump's 90-day freeze on foreign aid. Per JRS, $1.25mil is needed to maintain most critical programs providing food, medicine to refugees.

“We’re in no rush on it.” US President Trump says he is in no rush to implement his plan to take over and redevelop Gaza, which has prompted widespread condemnation. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/ooog3i

Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, responds VP Vance's suggestion that Catholic bishops are more concerned with their “bottom line” than humanitarian work. Cites New York's Cardinal Dolan, calling the suggestion baseless and “scurrilous.” www.chicagocatholic.com/cardinal-bla...

Our follow-up story on the situation at CRS for @ncronline.bsky.social, with reporting by @brianroewe.bsky.social and myself "The response from the bishops about the fate of their global relief organization has been muted and limited largely so far to an online advocacy push..."

Exclusive, via @brianroewe.bsky.social and myself Layoffs have already begun as Catholic Relief Services has been forced to begin shutting down programs funded by USAID, which supplies about half of the Catholic organization's $1.5 billion budget. via @ncronline.bsky.social

Amid Trump administration's moves to cut foreign aid, Catholic Relief Services, the US bishops' agency that provides assistance overseas, has an online petition urging people to contact their congressional representatives to resume foreign assistance support.crs.org/act/foreign-...

This: It is unusual enough for a recent Catholic convert to publicly shame the institutional church over a core church teaching. A sitting U.S. government official, much less the vice president of the United States, referencing debunked social media conspiracies is totally uncharted territory.

NEW: MD Catholic bishops issue statement affirming solidarity w/immigrants. "We … commit to advocating for policies that protect your rights and uphold your dignity, trusting that our collective voices will help build a society rooted in compassion and justice." www.mdcatholic.org/immigration2...

Oh, per @nbcnews.com: Quaker groups file suit over the end of policy restricting ICE arrests in houses of worship. Note: Quakers were some of the earliest supporters of Sanctuary, even putting out a booklet on the topic in 1984 (it's still available). www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

"Women are no longer confined to their homes," said Dkhar. "They are leading church services, guiding the faithful and sensitizing people about our religion and culture."

NEW: Leaders of the Sisters of Mercy, an order of nuns, have sent a letter of support to Bishop Mariann Budde. They say she “spoke faithfully, expressing love and concern for the most vulnerable among us, proclaiming the Gospel in its most clear form” and note “those in power attack truth-tellers.”

As predicted by @bfragancr.bsky.social, SCOTUS has agreed to hear this matter www.ncronline.org/news/taxpaye...

Via @bfragancr.bsky.social - The famous Vietnam War news photo, presented to Pope Francis in 2022, is known worldwide — but who is the photographer who actually snapped the picture of 'Napalm Girl'? #Vietnam #media www.ncronline.org/news/iconic-...

NEW: Reached for comment about President Trump referring to Budde as a "so-called bishop" and other pushback directed her way, a spokesperson for the Episcopal Church sent me the following statement, saying they "stand by Bishop Budde and her appeal for the Christian values of mercy and compassion."

Reporter’s Inbox: Statement from New Ways Ministry, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ Catholics, on recent USCCB remarks on President Trump’s executive orders

Via @bfragancr.bsky.social - ‘McElroy, a Trump critic, is set to face potentially frosty relations with the White House and financial troubles in the archdiocese following the pandemic and a sexual abuse crisis.’ #Catholic #WashingtonDC www.ncronline.org/news/cardina...

My story today for @ncronline.bsky.social. #catholic "McElroy, a Trump critic, is set to face potentially frosty relations with the White House and financial troubles in the archdiocese following the pandemic and a sexual abuse crisis..."

Pope Francis today in The New York Times: "Narcissists are continually looking into the mirror, painting themselves, gazing at themselves, but the best advice in front of a mirror is to laugh at ourselves. It is good for us." www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/o...

My story today for @ncronline.bsky.social Nearly four years since @pontifexeng.bsky.social changed canon law to allow women to be installed as lectors & acolytes, some dioceses are now moving ahead with ceremonies to formally recognize women in those instituted lay ministries...

My latest for @ncronline.bsky.social NYT columnist David Brooks: Resisting President-elect Donald Trump's campaign promise to begin a mass deportation program of undocumented immigrants will be "the crucial fight over the next several months" for Catholics and people of faith.

NEW: After reviewing leaked documents, we have found UnitedHealth is strategically limiting access to a treatment for thousands of children with autism across the country in order to cut costs. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal. www.propublica.org/article/unit... 👇

Must-read via @bfragancr.bsky.social - Family of alleged gunman in CEO murder has Italian Catholic roots in Baltimore #LuigiMangione #CEO #healthcare #assassin www.ncronline.org/news/family-...

My story today for National Catholic Reporter. “Luigi Mangione hails from a well-to-do family that has been interwoven into Baltimore's economic, political and civic life, and that has contributed handsomely to local Catholic organizations…”

I understand hating opinion columns, I say this as an opinion columnist, but reporting is good and if American democracy is going to survive we desperately need reporting to expose corruption.

After a restoration that cost upwards of a billion dollars and captivated Catholics and nonbelievers alike, Notre Dame reopens. www.ncronline.org/news/notre-d...

If you’re curious how Musk’s ideological shift happened/how it intersected with Christian conservatism (including the whole Babylon Bee connection, which folks undersell but is made apparent in Musk’s own texts revealed in a lawsuit), boy do I have the piece for you: religionnews.com/2024/12/03/h...

A really good round-up of Hegseth, Wilson, etc., in here, including something I haven’t seen elsewhere: Finding evidence in Hegseth’s own writings that he absolutely knows the violent historical subtext to “Deus Vult” beyond its general use as a Christian slogan.

my latest in @LaCroixInt From Pius XII’s silence to Francis’ words about Israel and Gaza international.la-croix.com/opinions/fro...