Georgia Bulletin

Washington

• 10 Ways Vatican II Shapes The Church Today

  Published October 11, 2012

  The Catholic Church marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council by Blessed Pope John XXIII on October 11. The Council ran from 1962-1965, producing 16 documents over the course of four sessions. Over 2,000 bishops from around the world participated. The Council introduced major reforms and stands among the most […]

• Timeline Of Events Related To Health Reform Mandate

  By NANCY FRAZIER O'BRIEN, CNS
  Published May 24, 2012

  Here is a timeline of key events related to the health reform law and the Department of Health and Human Services’ requirement that contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs, and sterilizations be covered free of charge in most health plans. Feb. 22, 2010: President Barack Obama releases his proposal for health reform. March 23, 2010: The […]

• List Of 43 Plaintiffs In 12 Lawsuits Against HHS Mandate

  Published May 24, 2012

  Here, listed by the federal jurisdiction in which they were filed, are the plaintiffs in the 12 lawsuits filed May 21 against the Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate that most health plans must cover sterilizations and contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs. District of Columbia – Archdiocese of Washington – Consortium of Catholic Academies, […] Full Story

• Catholic Dioceses, Agencies Sue To Stop HHS Mandate

  By NANCY FRAZIER O'BRIEN, CNS
  Published May 24, 2012

  Forty-three Catholic dioceses, schools, hospitals, social service agencies and other institutions filed suit in federal court May 21 to stop three government agencies from implementing a mandate that would require them to cover contraceptives and sterilization in their health plans. “Through this lawsuit, plaintiffs do not seek to impose their religious beliefs on others,” said […]

• Catholics Urged To Join In ‘Fortnight For Freedom’

  By NANCY FRAZIER O'BRIEN, CNS
  Published April 26, 2012

  American Catholics must resist unjust laws “as a duty of citizenship and an obligation of faith,” a committee of the U.S. bishops said in a new statement on religious liberty. Titled “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,” the 12-page statement by the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty also calls for “a fortnight for freedom” from […] Full Story

• Catholic Agencies Mandated To Offer Free Contraception, Sterilization In Health Plans

  By NANCY FRAZIER O'BRIEN, CNS
  Published February 2, 2012

  Although Catholic leaders vowed to fight on, the Obama administration has turned down repeated requests from Catholic bishops, hospitals, schools and charitable organizations to revise its religious exemption to the requirement that all health plans cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge. Instead, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, […]

• Haiti Quake Recovery Slow; Cholera Epidemic Grows

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, CNS
  Published January 6, 2011

  Not much has changed in the region around Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, since a magnitude 7 earthquake leveled just about anything that was standing. In fact, it’s likely the 1.5 million Haitians left homeless by the earth’s movement would say things have gotten worse since the Jan. 12 quake that killed 230,000 and injured 300,000. Now, […]

• Health Care Reform Brings ‘Wound To Church’s Unity’

  By NANCY FRAZIER O'BRIEN, CNS
  Published January 6, 2011

  2010 will be known in many circles as the year of health reform. Among Catholics, it might also be known as the year that caused, as Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George said in his final talk as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a “wound to the church’s unity.” Leaders of the USCCB […]

• Congress’ shutdown showdown: Good theater, but is it good government?

  By MARK PATTISON, Catholic News Service
  Published June 24, 2010

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—“The play’s the thing,” Shakespeare wrote. The drama being played out in Congress since the lawmakers returned from summer vacation has made for riveting viewing, with cable news channels showing shifting vote totals on crucial bills in real time. But questions arise on the strategy of each house of Congress passing bills knowing they […] Full Story

• Cardinal says USCCB continues legal, moral analysis of HHS mandate

  Published June 10, 2010

  WASHINGTON (CNS)—In a Sept. 17 letter to U.S. bishops, New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops continues to study the legal and moral implications of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act. The USCCB also continues to “develop avenues of response […] Full Story

• Catholic Agencies Around World Rush Aid To Haitian Earthquake Victims

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, CNS
  Published January 21, 2010

  Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services has been asked by the Vatican to coordinate the church’s relief and recovery efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. The Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican office that promotes and coordinates Catholic charitable giving and distributes the money the pope designates for charity, made the request of the U.S. bishops’ aid agency because […]

• New Social Encyclical Called Groundbreaking

  By NANCY FRAZIER O’BRIEN, CNS
  Published July 16, 2009

  Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”), breaks new ground on such topics as microfinancing, intellectual property rights, globalization and the concept of putting one’s wealth at the service of the poor, according to Catholic scholars and church leaders. In interviews with Catholic News Service and in statements about the encyclical […]

• Catholic Leaders See Hope, Challenges In Election

  By Catholic Leaders See Hope, Challenges In Election
  Published November 13, 2008

  Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Catholic bishops, congratulated President-elect Barack Obama on his “historic election” Nov. 4 as the first African-American to win the White House. “The people of our country have entrusted you with a great responsibility,” the cardinal said in a letter to Obama on behalf of the […]

• Once Allies On Immigration, Candidates Now Diverge

  By PATRICIA ZAPOR, CNS
  Published October 8, 2008

  Not long ago, the two leading presidential candidates clearly supported the same approaches to fixing the dysfunctional U.S. immigration system. In 2006, Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was among those working to try to pass the ill-fated comprehensive immigration reform bill co-written by Republican nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Sen. Ted […]

• Iraq War Poses Major Challenges For Next President

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, CNS
  Published October 2, 2008

  The legacy of President George W. Bush will be framed primarily by one event: the ongoing war in Iraq. At five and a half years and running, the Iraq War—portrayed by Bush as a vital front in what he has characterized as the war on terror—has left Americans divided and much of the world community […]

• Leaders: Don’t Forget Human Aspect Of Bailout

  Published October 2, 2008

  Church leaders urged members of Congress and the Bush administration to keep the human and ethical dimensions of the economic crisis in mind as they craft a financial bailout package for Wall Street. “This crisis involves far more than just economic or technical matters, but has enormous human impact and clear ethical dimensions which should […]

• Candidates’ Stands On Life Cover More Than Abortion

  By NANCY FRAZIER O’BRIEN, CNS
  Published September 25, 2008

  On few topics do presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain diverge as sharply as on abortion. But on other life issues—embryonic stem-cell research, assisted suicide and the death penalty—the differences are not always easy to ferret out. On abortion, McCain’s campaign Web site said the Republican candidate “believes Roe v. Wade is […] Full Story

• North Georgia Young Adults, Youth Trek To Sydney

  By STEPHEN O’KANE, Staff Writer
  Published July 17, 2008

  Youth, young adults, priests and chaperones from North Georgia are among the 15,000 people who traveled from the United States to World Youth Day, the international event convened by Pope Benedict XVI in Sydney, Australia, July 15-20. According to organizers, the U.S. contingent was the largest delegation representing any country outside of Australia. Also 50 […]

• Observers Applaud Pope’s Visit As Right On Target

  By CAROL ZIMMERMANN, CNS
  Published May 1, 2008

  When Pope Benedict XVI left New York April 20 after his six-day visit to the United States, Catholics were catching their breath from the whirlwind tour and many were trying to figure out what kind of impact the visit would leave in its wake. The trip—anticipated since last November—prompted a fair amount of guesswork about […] Full Story

• Pope Calls Scandal ‘Countersign’ To Gospel Of Life

  By JULIE ASHER, CNS
  Published April 24, 2008

  One of the “countersigns to the Gospel of life” in the United States is the sexual abuse of minors, a situation “that causes deep shame,” Pope Benedict XVI told about 300 U.S. bishops gathered April 16 in the crypt church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. He called […]