In a scene from the movie "Midwinter Break," Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciarán Hinds) survey "The Jewish Bride," a Rembrandt painting of Isaac and Rebecca that hangs in the Rijksmuseum, and see two separate but equally plausible meanings based on the circumstances of their own lives. (Focus Features/Mark de Blok)

'Midwinter Break' portrays the complicated beauty in the sacrament of marriage

Culture

"Midwinter Break," based on the novel of the same title, is a quiet film about a long marriage between a Catholic woman and secular man, where love and tension both dwell.

The Latest

Camden, NJ, diocese agrees to $180M settlement of clergy sexual abuse allegations

Mike Catalini, Associated Press

First Sunday of Lent: What is fundamental to Jesus' mission?

Delight in the simple, abundant gifts all around you

Pauline Hovey

Editors' Choice

Fr. Davide Pagliarani, center, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X is pictured during the society's general chapter in Econe, Switzerland July 12, 2018. With him are Bishop Alfonso de la Galarreta, left, and Fr. Christian Bouchacourt. (CNS/Courtesy fsspx.news)

In Focus

Traditionalist Catholic group doubles down on illicit consecrations, setting course for potential schism

Despite a Vatican offer of renewed theological dialogue, the Society of St. Pius X says it will consecrate bishops without papal approval, presenting the pope with a major test of church unity.

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Most Read Stories

Steam comes from a coal-fired power station in Emalahleni, South Africa, Oct. 11, 2021. (AP/Themba Hadebe, file)

#1
In South Africa's coal belt, girls disappear — and Catholic sisters quietly pull them back

As illegal mining spreads through abandoned shafts in South Africa, Catholic religious women risk their lives to rescue girls coerced into sex and early marriages in communities the state struggles to protect.

ByDoreen Ajiambo
Omar Epps stars as Malik, a Chicago West Side gang leader wrestling with his choices after being introduced to bandit-turned-saint Moses the Black by his grandmother, in "Moses the Black." (Fathom Entertainment)

#2
50 Cent's 'Moses the Black' brings 4th-century saint into mainstream culture

Producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's "Moses the Black" acknowledges both humanity's propensity toward violence and the transformative power of faith.

ByDaryl Grigsby
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Fr. Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, are pictured at the Vatican Feb. 12. (OSV News/Courtesy Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith)
Vatican News

#3
Vatican extends olive branch to traditionalist group threatening break from Rome

The Society of St. Pius X, which denies key teachings of Vatican II, has said that it would consecrate new bishops without papal approval on July 1.

ByJustin McLellan

#4
Epstein files reveal ties to Catholic conservatives' anti-Francis campaign

#5
Traditionalist Catholic group doubles down on illicit consecrations, setting course for potential schism

#6
'God does not need papers': Cardinals spend Ash Wednesday with ICE detainees, their families

Opinion

A video of a bishop denouncing ICE inspired me — then I found it was AI

Guest Voices

Your letters: Trump's 'destruction' of America and NCR film coverage

Letters to the Editor
FanDuel, DraftKings and other online gambling apps are displayed on a phone in San Francisco, Sept. 26, 2022. (AP photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Pope Leo condemned the scourge of gambling. Some US Catholics beat him there.

NCR Voices

Pope Leo XIV condemned the "scourge of gambling" in a speech late last year. His words followed warnings in the United States, where Catholic leaders have spoken out about the dangers of online gambling.

As Abrahamic faiths fast, let us consider food ethics

Guest Voices

US Catholic bishops have spoken out about racism. Have they spoken up for women?

Guest Voices
The Otay Mesa Detention Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement federal detention center in San Diego, Calif., is pictured April 11, 2020. (CNS/Reuters/Bing Guan)

For Kansas City parish, affiliation is not complicity

Guest Voices

A recent column "misunderstands both how parishes function and how moral accountability is most faithfully pursued within the Catholic tradition," writes Steve Miller. 

Vatican

Vatican expands visitor experience at St. Peter's Basilica to mark 400th anniversary

The Vatican is marking the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter's Basilica with a host of visitor-friendly initiatives, including expanding access to its spectacular terrace and its snack bar in the shadow of Michelangelo's great dome.

Fr. Davide Pagliarani, center, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X is pictured during the society's general chapter in Econe, Switzerland July 12, 2018. With him are Bishop Alfonso de la Galarreta, left, and Fr. Christian Bouchacourt. (CNS/Courtesy fsspx.news)

Traditionalist Catholic group doubles down on illicit consecrations, setting course for potential schism

Despite a Vatican offer of renewed theological dialogue, the Society of St. Pius X says it will consecrate bishops without papal approval, presenting the pope with a major test of church unity.

ByJustin McLellan

Pope to Legionaries of Christ: Authority in religious life is not 'domination'

In his Feb. 19 address to participants of the religious congregation's General Chapter, the pope said that authority in religious life should serve as a means of "animating common life" centered on Christ, while "avoiding any form of control that does not respect the dignity and freedom of persons."

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

Pope's grand tour of Italy over the next few months takes him to Lampedusa and beyond

The Vatican released Leo's agenda for day trips to a half-dozen Italian cities over the next six months. The Vatican has rarely released such plans together and so far in advance, but word of the visits was starting to filter out.

ByNicole Winfield, Associated Press

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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Pope Leo opens Lent with call for repentance from a world 'in flames'

Holy See will not join Trump's 'Board of Peace' for Gaza, Cardinal Parolin says

Cardinal defends lay leadership in Roman Curia in rare note

EarthBeat

A red salmonberry on the vine on Baranof Island near Sitka, Alaska (Wikimedia Commons/Arthur T. LaBar)

Delight in the simple, abundant gifts all around you

Could it be that this was what God was asking of me: to take stock in the simple, abundant gifts all around me, delight in them like a child and find myself delighting in the Holy One right in front of me?

A man holds a sign during a demonstration marking the start of Climate Week in New York City, Sept. 17, 2023. (OSV News/Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

In Lenten reflection, US bishops call Catholics to ecological conversion and action

"Indifference and distance from one another have led to devastating consequences for God's creation, including the poor. The conversion that we need is both metaphorical and physical," the prelates wrote.

ByBrian Roewe
Fasting is one of the oldest Catholic traditions, and is honored by most faiths as a way that leads to spiritual enlightenment and discipline. (OSV News illustration/CNS file, Emily Thompson)
Guest Voices

As Abrahamic faiths fast, let us consider food ethics

What is shared between three Abrahamic traditions — Islam, Christianity and Judaism — is the idea that food is never just simply food.

ByShmuly Yanklowitz
Steam comes from a coal-fired power station in Emalahleni, South Africa, Oct. 11, 2021. (AP/Themba Hadebe, file)

In South Africa's coal belt, girls disappear — and Catholic sisters quietly pull them back

As illegal mining spreads through abandoned shafts in South Africa, Catholic religious women risk their lives to rescue girls coerced into sex and early marriages in communities the state struggles to protect.

ByDoreen Ajiambo

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Faith leaders blast Trump repeal of linchpin climate rule as legal battle awaits

Heidi Kühn had a vision. Crops now flourish in past war zones once planted with mines.

Kenyan nuns fill the maternal health gap in climate-stressed regions

Culture

AB Hernandez, a transgender student at Jurupa Valley High School, competes in the high jump at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, Calif., May 31, 2025. (AP/Jae C. Hong, file)
Book Reviews

New book on trans athletes emphasizes human dignity

Fair Game offers a striking account of the hostile political climate fueled by scapegoating and misinformation, and counters it with the substantial body of evidence showing that transgender inclusion strengthens athletic communities for everyone who participates. 

In a scene from the movie "Midwinter Break," Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciarán Hinds) survey "The Jewish Bride," a Rembrandt painting of Isaac and Rebecca that hangs in the Rijksmuseum, and see two separate but equally plausible meanings based on the circumstances of their own lives. (Focus Features/Mark de Blok)

'Midwinter Break' portrays the complicated beauty in the sacrament of marriage

"Midwinter Break," based on the novel of the same title, is a quiet film about a long marriage between a Catholic woman and secular man, where love and tension both dwell.

ByElizabeth Hamilton
Several people sit on a couch with a Black little girl. A woman stands, holding a baby.

The enduring beauty and message of 'Champagne,' a short film that challenges the heart

Simoa Barros writes on a lesser-known animated flick from the late Michael Sporn that tells of a young Black girl who navigates her world in living color.

BySimoa Barros, Black Catholic Messenger
Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson star in a scene from the 2003 movie "Something's Gotta Give." Keaton died Oct. 11 at age 79. (CNS/Columbia Pictures)

Diane Keaton's search for heaven

The filmography of Diane Keaton is currently showcased at New York City's Film at Lincoln Center, and the throughline is unmistakable.

ByJose Solís

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

50 Cent's 'Moses the Black' brings 4th-century saint into mainstream culture

Catholic cross like no other is a beacon of unity in Olympic host city Milan

Olympic skater aims to honor Italy's Catholic culture with 'Conclave' program

The first temptation of Christ, depicted in a psalter from circa 1222 (Wikimedia Commons)
Columns

First Sunday of Lent: What is fundamental to Jesus' mission?

The Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent shares the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. This story raises important questions about how we are to think and go about our life and mission as Christians.

A cross, a clay jug and a candle sit beside a note in Spanish reading, "A call…how shall I respond?" (Flight in V)
Columns

The call that remains: Vocation, encounter and journey in consecrated life

"I do not understand the call as a decision made once and for all, but as a relationship to be cultivated and renewed — a relationship that continues to unfold and transform me."

By
A beautician trainee works at New Life Ministry, a small vocational training center Sr. Rita Samson, a "secular nun," founded in 2005 in Youhanabad, a low-income Christian neighborhood on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan. (Kamran Chaudhry)

'Secular nun' in Pakistan offers skills training to women in need

Sr. Rita Samson lives alone and runs New Life Ministry, a small vocational training center she founded in 2005 from her home in the outskirts of Lahore.

By
Sr. Fransiska Imakulata, of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, poses with abuse survivor Evi Bota Sao, at a shelter for women and children operated by the nongovernmental organization TRUK F, or the Flores Humanitarian Volunteer Team, in the city of Maumere in eastern Indonesia. (GSR photo/Chris Herlinger)

'We are new women': Abuse survivors in Indonesia find hope with Catholic sisters

The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit on the island of Flores cofounded a shelter to provide women with refuge, counseling and legal support in a patriarchal society.

ByChris Herlinger

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Nigerian sisters hold back tide of HIV crisis amidst USAID cuts

Do I listen to Joel or Jesus this Ash Wednesday?

Q&A with Sr. Mary Dipa, educating nurses and uplifting a community