[7] NCR presents itself "as one of the few, if not the only truly independent, journalistic outlet for Catholics and others who struggle with the complex moral and societal issues of the day.

"[11] In April 1967, NCR published confidential reports of a commission appointed by Pope Paul VI to review the church's teaching on artificial contraception.

The action was among the reasons Bishop Charles H. Helmsing of Kansas City, Missouri, in 1968, issued a condemnation of NCR and demanded that it remove the word Catholic from its name.

Bishop Helmsing issued a statement condemning NCR, saying it had a "policy of crusading against the Church's teachings," a "poisonous character" and "disregard and denial of the most sacred values of our Catholic faith.

Dozens of Catholic journalists would sign a statement disagreeing with the condemnation based on its "underlying definition of the legitimate boundaries of religious journalism in service to the church."

[14] In 2013, Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, Missouri, wrote a column in his diocesan newspaper discussing Helmsing's condemnation of NCR.

NCR has won the "General Excellence" award from the Catholic Press Association in the category of national news publications six times between 2008 and 2014.