Justin McLellan headshot

Justin McLellan

Justin McLellan is an Ecuadorian American journalist based in Rome with Catholic News Service, the news agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and theology from the University of Notre Dame. Follow him on Twitter: @McLellan_Js

By this Author

Pope Francis looks to the side in a video screen grab with the Lisboa 2022 World Youth Day logo

'Open your hearts to other cultures,' pope tells young people

Pope Francis told young people to always "look to the horizon" and open their hearts to other peoples and cultures.

Pope Francis receives a gift from members of a delegation of Buddhists from Cambodia in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Jan. 19, 2023. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Interreligious dialogue leads to care for planet, pope tells Buddhists

Welcoming a delegation of Cambodian Buddhists to the Vatican Jan. 19, Pope Francis called for "dialogue at all levels" to seek solutions for repairing the broken relationship between humanity and nature.

Pope Francis smiles at a baby who is held up towards him by a woman who also clutches many rosaries to the baby's side

To be pastoral, look to the Good Shepherd, pope says

Christians must develop a pastoral heart to care for those who have not heard the Gospel or who have left the fold, Pope Francis said.

An older white man in a suit stands next to a Brown-skinned man in a suit

U.S. religious liberty expert 'disappointed' in Vatican-China deal

The United States' chief advocate for religious freedom expressed his "disappointment" in the Vatican over its provisional agreement with China on the appointment of bishops in the country.

Pope Francis closes his fingertips in a hand gesture as he speaks to an older white man in a suit

Papal condemnations of nuclear war 'indispensable,' says U.N. official

Pope Francis' condemnations of the threat of nuclear war are "indispensable," said the head of the U.N. nuclear energy agency.

Pope Francis, with a big smile, wheels past an excited audience where people hold their cellphones up

Evangelization is the 'oxygen' of Christian life, pope says

Sharing the faith is the "oxygen" that "invigorates and purifies" Christian life, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis smiles broadly, holds a cane, and pats the arm of a white man wearing a tuxedo

Peace requires a 'defense of life,' pope tells ambassadors

"Peace requires before all else the defense of life," which is threatened by the "alleged 'right to abortion,' " Pope Francis told ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.

A gray-haired man in a suit talks to a bishop seen from the back with Pope Benedict XVI's body in the background

World's Christians to be represented at Pope Benedict's funeral

Representatives from the world's Christian churches will travel to the Vatican to attend the funeral Mass of Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square Jan. 5.

A portrait of Shireen Abu Akleh stands alongside flowers on Oct. 26 at the entrance of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, historically considered the home church for Catholics practicing in the Greek Melkite rite in Rome. (Rome Reports/Justin McLellan)

Slain Palestinian American journalist's family asks pope to push for justice

Six months after Shireen Abu Akleh was killed covering an Israeli raid in the West Bank, her family briefly met with Pope Francis Oct. 26. "He gave us his blessing, and we demanded that there is justice," her niece said.

Indigenous people march with a placard that says "Brazil Indigenous Land" as they mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples in São Paulo Aug. 9. Cardinal Leonardo Steiner said that the Amazon region is seeing an increase in violence.

Amazon's first cardinal says violence against Indigenous communities is greatest threat to the region

Cardinal Leonardo Steiner, archbishop of Manaus, cited the murder of a British journalist and Indigenous expert in Brazil as a consequence of commercial activity encroaching on Indigenous lands.

María Lía Zervino in her sparsely decorated office at the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations in Rome. "We moved in right in the middle of the pandemic," she told NCR. (Justin McLellan)

Women helping pick bishops helps whole church, says new Vatican dicastery member

María Lía Zervino sits down with NCR to discuss her appointment to the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops and how local bishops can follow Pope Francis' example in giving women more substantial positions of responsibility.

Death penalty protesters are seen outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington Oct. 13, 2021. With Roe v. Wade overturned, the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, urges Catholics to continue fighting to protect life in all its forms.

Vatican's pro-life chief: After Roe, Catholics must also fight for gun control

While Pope Francis has clearly condemned abortion, the Vatican has repeatedly pushed for a pro-life message that extends to life-related issues beyond ending abortion, which has been a focus for the American church.

Members of a delegation from Latin America meet with Caritas Internationalis at the Vatican. (Courtesy of Guilherme

Latin American caravan asks Vatican to divest funding from mining corporations

A caravan of lay and religious leaders from Latin America traveled to Rome to garner the Vatican's support in ending the destructive mining practices that ravage communities across the region.

Advertisement