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National Catholic Register

From Augustine to Auschwitz: Why Just War Still Matters

Sgt. Justin A. Moeller
A U.S. soldier with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division provides security during a battle drill at Forward Operating Base Lightning in Paktia province, Afghanistan, Oct. 3, 2013.

Responding to Pope Leo’s encyclical, patristics scholar Professor John Rist argues that history, from Rome’s fall to the Second World War, shows the necessity of moral clarity in war.

Federal Judge Says Government Can Deposit Money to Seize Diocesan Land for Border Fencing

Paul Ratje/AFP
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Helicopter is pictured patrolling the border at Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico, on July 22, 2021, with a statue of Christ just visible atop the mountain. The Diocese of Las Cruces is working to halt the federal government’s seizure of land at the base of the mountain.

The Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, had asked a district court to block the deposit of the funds while it fights the government's attempts.

Leo XIV: On the Peripheries of Faith

Simone Risoluti
Pope Leo carries the Eucharist in Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid on Corpus Christi Sunday, June 7, 2026.

ANALYSIS: The first countries Leo has chosen to visit in Europe on his international travels are those with a solid Catholic history.

What Is Synodality? Pope Leo Has a Chance to Clarify It

Riccardo De Luca
Cardinals attend a Mass for the opening of the Synod of Bishops on Oct. 6, 2019, in St. Peter’s Basilica.

COMMENTARY: The Pope’s treatment of synodality suggests a shift away from vague appeals to a ‘listening Church’ and toward the Church’s traditional structures of governance.

Catholic Bishops of England and Wales React to Reintroduction of Assisted Suicide Bill

Rob Stothard
Campaigners against assisted dying gather outside the Houses of Parliament ahead of a House of Commons vote that rejected the legislation on Sept. 11, 2015, in London.

On Wednesday, Labour member of Parliament Lauren Edwards reintroduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which failed to pass the House of Lords in April.

Cardinal Ruini, John Paul II’s Chief Strategist in Italy, Dies at Age 95

Franco Origlia
Cardinal Camillo Ruini arrives in St. Peter Square for Palm Sunday Mass held by Pope Benedict XVI on April 17, 2011 in Vatican City, Vatican.

Architect of the Italian Church’s ‘cultural project,’ he led high‑stakes fights over life, family, and secularism while seeking to re‑anchor Catholic witness in national culture.