Washington
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Hearing women’s stories of abortion, Gospel reading comes alive
By BARBARA GOLDER, Special To The Bulletin
Published February 6, 2014I have now officially surpassed my previous record of consorting with Catholics, set when I was fortunate enough to attend a papal Mass with 85,000 or so of my closest Catholic relatives. With half a million folks or so at the March For Life—and a great plenty of them Catholic—I’m guessing I passed that mark […]
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Youths must help world see God has plan for ‘each life,’ priest says
By RICHARD SZCZEPANOWSKI, Catholic News Service
Published February 6, 2014WASHINGTON (CNS)—Braving near-record low temperatures and Arctic-type wind chills, thousands of young people from across the Archdiocese of Washington and the United States gathered in Washington for a rally and Mass prior to the annual Jan. 22 March for Life. “We can help the world understand that no one is an accident, all have a […]
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USCCB report studies, makes suggestions about rise in solo minor migrants
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published February 6, 2014WASHINGTON (CNS)—Dangerous conditions in their homelands are leading tens of thousands more families in Central America and Mexico to send their children by themselves to cross the U.S. border illegally, according to a report by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration. Citing data from two U.S. federal agencies, the report estimates that, […]
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Two types of HHS mandate cases are at different points in legal process
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published February 6, 2014WASHINGTON (CNS)—The Supreme Court is involved in two types of issues related to claims by employers who say they should not have to provide coverage of contraceptives in their workers’ health insurance plans because this violates the employers’ faith-based moral objections. Both matters revolve around requirements in the Affordable Care Act that employer-provided health insurance […] Full Story
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‘Citizen-scholar’ and former Ambassador to Vatican Thomas Melady dies
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published January 9, 2014WASHINGTON (CNS)—Former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Thomas P. Melady, who served in several diplomatic posts and continued to play a role as “citizen-scholar” long past the age when most people would have retired, died Jan. 6. He was 86. Melady died at his Washington home of a brain tumor, which doctors only recently diagnosed. […]
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For mother of prisoner, death penalty issue in ‘forefront of our lives’
By PRIYA NARAPAREDDY, Catholic News Service
Published December 6, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—Terri Steinberg said she never thought about the death penalty until her son was put on death row. Steinberg said her son Justin Wolfe spent 12 years on death row in the state of Virginia, after initially turning himself in to the police to clear his name from murder charges. But he was convicted. […]
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Mandela recalled as a man who inspired others to uphold human dignity
By Catholic News Service
Published December 6, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—Pope Francis joined church and government leaders from around the world in crediting Nelson Mandela for a steadfast commitment to promoting human rights and upholding the dignity of all people in response to the death Dec. 5 of the former president of South Africa. In a message to South Africa President Jacob Zuma, Pope […]
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Dioceses ask for input from Catholics to prepare for synod
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published December 5, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—In the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., Catholics are being encouraged to do a little studying about church teaching and then weigh in on the preparation material for next year’s extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family. The Harrisburg Diocese is one of a handful around the country, including the Atlanta Archdiocese, that have online […]
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Syrian refugees: Aid agencies adapt as 1.6 million flood neighboring countries
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published December 5, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—With an estimated 6.5 million Syrians—one-third of the country’s population—displaced from their homes, aid agencies are scrambling to meet needs that go beyond traditional emergency assistance. T. Alexander Aleinikoff, the deputy high commissioner for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told a Washington audience Nov. 22 that the influx of Syrians to adjoining countries—Jordan, […]
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High court to hear two cases on HHS mandate; declines employer case
Published December 5, 2013
WASHINGTON (CNS)—The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Nov. 26 to take up two cases that challenge provisions of the Affordable Care Act requiring employers to provide contraceptive coverage on behalf of for-profit companies whose owners object to the mandate for religious reasons. On Dec. 2, the court announced it had declined to hear the appeal of […]
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Something—or something less—for everyone in new farm bill?
By MARK PATTISON, Catholic News Service
Published November 21, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—The farm bill, already one year late, could be even later if the House-Senate conference committee working on the compromise version takes its sweet time. According to Bob Gronski, a policy analyst with the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, the lawmakers are taking the bill one “title” at a time until the conference committee […] Full Story
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Site of Kennedy funeral in ‘63, cathedral is ‘holy ground’
By MARK ZIMMERMANN, Catholic News Service
Published November 21, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—On Nov. 25, 1963, a television audience of millions of people around the world prayerfully bid farewell to President John F. Kennedy, as his flag-draped coffin was placed before the sanctuary of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, during the funeral Mass for the slain president. Today, almost 50 years later, […]
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Bishop urges temporary protected status for Philippine citizens in U.S.
Published November 21, 2013
WASHINGTON (CNS)—The “widespread loss of life and property” in the Philippines caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan warrants granting temporary protected status to Philippine citizens residing in the United States, a U.S. bishop told federal officials in a Nov. 18 letter. The status, known as TPS, allows citizens of the designated country to reside legally in […] Full Story
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Comet ISON expected to give earth-based observers a Thanksgiving show
By DENNIS SADOWSKI, Catholic News Service
Published November 7, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—A “dirty snowball” is expected to put on a show for earth-based observers in the pre-dawn skies around Thanksgiving. Astronomers are projecting that Comet ISON, discovered in September 2012, will be a unusually bright visitor to the inner solar system starting just before Nov. 28 and continuing for days afterward. But, as usual in […] Full Story
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On bishops’ agenda: elections, marriage
Published October 24, 2013
WASHINGTON (CNS)—Elections for a new president and vice president, a discussion and vote on a Spanish-language book of prayers at Mass, and a proposal to develop a statement on pornography are among the items awaiting the U.S. bishops when they gather in Baltimore for their annual fall assembly. At their Nov. 11-14 meeting at the […] Full Story
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Archbishop honored for service to Catholic education
Published October 11, 2013
ARLINGTON, Va.—Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory was one of six individuals who received the NCEA Seton Award from the National Catholic Educational Association at the 23rd annual Seton Awards ceremony, held Oct. 7 in Washington, D.C. This award honors philanthropy, leadership and service to Catholic education and is the NCEA’s highest honor. The award is named […]
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Notable cases from Catholic perspective on Supreme Court docket
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published October 10, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—The Supreme Court’s docket for the term beginning Oct. 7 is notable—from the perspective of the Catholic Church—for a handful of cases accepted or in the pipeline that would refine previous rulings on free speech, public prayer and the Affordable Care Act. The docket so far lacks cases that would appear to be of […] Full Story
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Agencies stretching to meet needs of Syrians displaced by civil war
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published September 26, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—Governments and nongovernmental agencies are struggling to keep up with the needs and pressures created by the displacement of nearly a third of Syria’s population because of the country’s civil war. Assistance to the refugees and displaced people is coming from around the world, although resources are thinly stretched. Representatives of several Catholic agencies […]
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U.S. Supreme Court overturns key provision of Voting Rights Act
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published September 24, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—The Supreme Court June 25 overturned the part of the Voting Rights Act used to determine that 15 states have had to comply with the law’s protections for minority voters. The 5-4 decision said: “Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional; its formula can no longer be used as a basis for […]
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Would attacking Syria be a just war? Some see cloudy, some see clear answers
By PATRICIA ZAPOR, Catholic News Service
Published September 12, 2013WASHINGTON (CNS)—Even with just war theory as a guide, the answers remain murky to moral and ethical questions about whether a military strike is the appropriate response to what U.S. officials believe was a chemical attack against Syrian civilians, analysts said. While President Barack Obama, Congress and other world leaders weigh how to respond to […]
