On Labor Day, 1986 pastoral letter and AI reinforce Catholic Church's duty

The church "is not always the exemplary employer" regarding workers' rights and Catholic doctrine, Aimee Shelide Mayer writes. "The U.S. bishops' 1986 pastoral letter, 'Economic Justice for All,' name...

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As AI shapes work, US bishops urge safeguards for low-wage and young workers

"There is widespread concern that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to higher unemployment and to fewer jobs that can support a family," Archbishop Shelton Fabre said in a statement for Labor Day...

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Dolly Parton's talents were singing and acting, but her legacy will be hope

Dolly Parton's Christianity was radically inclusive, full of love and never took itself too seriously. Michael O'Loughlin looks back on the life and legacy of an American icon.

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NCR names Michael O'Loughlin new CEO and executive editor

The organization plans to invest in staff and technology, O'Loughlin said, as it explores new formats and ways of reaching readers.

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Catholic nuns among the last providing migrant aid at California border

As U.S. immigration policies empty shelters and cut aid along the California-Mexico border, Catholic sisters remain among the few groups supporting migrants stranded with dwindling options.

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During summer lull, conservative bishops call for more Latin Mass, less synodality

The news vacuum created during Leo's absence gave conservative voices abundant material to shape the summer's Catholic news cycle.

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New leader of US Franciscans: Pope Leo 'trying to hold the church together'

Br. Michael Perry was elected on July 15 to lead the largest province of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor in the United States.

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SSPX excommunication hasn't stopped Boston church from defying the Vatican

Earlier this month, the Vatican declared SSPX priests to be schismatic and warned the faithful to stop attending their Masses. Some parishioners at St. Catherine of Siena expressed defiance, and the c...

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Silicon Valley bishop: 18 months to shape AI before 'no turning back'

San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú told NCR that local church officials have been having conversations with those in the tech industry who are developing the AI tools that have the potential to reshape the g...

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Villanova unveils Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal ahead of Rome conference

A new award created by Villanova University, named after its most famous — and only papal — alumnus, will recognize extraordinary efforts in caring for the Earth and the common good.

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As bishop in Peru, future Pope Leo showed himself ahead of the curve on synodality

Despite the controversy surrounding synodality, the pope's ministerial record shows that the principles of a participatory church are deeply embedded in his pastor's DNA.

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Editorial: Pope's AI encyclical is well received, but its work has just begun

"Magnifica Humanitas is ultimately asking for one very simple, yet very difficult result: conversion. And Leo is not directing his message only to tech giants, think tanks or legislatures. He wants co...

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At US bishops' conference this week, the tea leaves will be in 3 key speeches

U.S. bishops are gathering in Orlando for their annual spring meeting. The agenda has interesting items on it, but a major point of interest will be three speeches at the meeting, writes Michael Sean ...

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Pope Leo arrives in Spain pushing back on polarization amid rising far-right

"The temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated," the pontiff said.

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Pope's AI encyclical lends church support to calls to slow rapid expansion of data centers

A typical AI data center uses the same amount of power as 100,000 houses, according to the International Energy Agency.

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Ken Paxton has targeted groups serving migrants. Will Texas voters care?

A Senate race in Texas features a Presbyterian seminarian who speaks in religious terms to bolster progressive politics, and a scandal-plagued state attorney general who has targeted nonprofits that s...

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Pope Leo picks EWTN News president Maria Montserrat Alvarado to lead Vatican communications

Alvarado was named the dicastery's prefect on June 2 in a surprising move given the U.S.-based TV network's previous public flare-ups with Pope Francis. She will begin in the role Nov. 1.

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Jill Biden on Her Memoir and a Marriage Where Difficult Things Weren’t Discussed

The former first lady talks about her husband’s health, losing the East Wing and Nancy Pelosi.

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In AI encyclical, Pope Leo warns of tech, data center threats to creation

In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo said, "Technology has the power to heal, connect, educate and protect our common home; but it can also divide, exclude and generate new forms of injustice."

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In first major European trip, pope's Spain visit to touch on polarization, migration

With stops in Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, Leo's June 6-12 visit will bring the pope to a polarized democracy, a deadly migration route and one of Catholicism's most iconic landmarks.

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What is Augustinian spirituality? A priest (and friend of Pope Leo) explains.

Fr. Art Pucaro discusses how Catholic social teaching and communal living inform Augustinian spirituality.

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With focus on solidarity, Leo's encyclical is a ripening of Catholic social doctrine

By confronting the church's failures, Magnifica Humanitas can be read as an "enactment of concrete solidarity," philosopher Sally Scholz writes.

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Catholic leaders weigh in on pope's AI encyclical, say it will take time to fully unpack

"I think he wants the church to purify itself to be able to be an effective counter-witness to the negative dynamics you see in the world," one leader told NCR.

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Pope Leo the practical: What ordinary people can do to fight threats from AI

In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo shares several practical ideas for ordinary Catholics concerned about the future of humanity in light of rapid changes related to artificial intelligence.

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Pope Leo the practical: What ordinary people can do to fight threats from AI

In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo shares several practical ideas for ordinary Catholics concerned about the future of humanity in light of rapid changes related to artificial intelligence.

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Pope Leo calls to 'disarm' AI in major document, warns of technologic threats to humanity

In Magnifica Humanitas, the pope says just war theory is "outdated," condemns lethal AI weapons and asks pardon for the church's delayed condemnation of slavery.

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The church defended workers from industrial capitalism. Now Pope Leo XIV is taking on AI.

Catholic labor historians see parallels between Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV's upcoming encyclical on protecting the human person in the age of AI, and his 19th century predecessor's landmark enc...

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Why is AI company Anthropic helping launch Pope Leo XIV's encyclical?

Anthropic "has really staked their position as the ethical AI company, saying no to the U.S. government when it comes to lethal autonomous weapon systems … and against mass surveillance of Americans,"...

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The religion on display at Trump's DC rally was not the Gospel of Jesus Christ

The event was another step by religious and political extremists intent on destroying the wall that separates church and state as well as the constitutional guarantees of freedom of – and from — relig...

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