Heavy security in D.C., ongoing pandemic mean March for Life will be virtual
For the first time since 1974, when it first began, the message of the national March for Life to participants is: Stay home.
Lisa Montgomery put to death after Supreme Court reversal
By Carol Zimmermann | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — After a flurry of court decisions, the Supreme Court reversed a pair of rulings from federal appeals courts that had put death-row inmate Lisa Montgomery’s execution on hold, and it denied two other...
Popes Francis, Benedict XVI in line for vaccination against COVID-19
By Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican began vaccinating its employees and residents against COVID-19 Jan. 13, giving priority to its health care workers, security personnel, employees who deal with the public and older residents,...
Pope amends canon law so women can be installed as lectors, acolytes
By Cindy Wooden | Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Recognizing “the gifts of each baptized person” — women and men — Pope Francis ordered a change to canon law and liturgical norms so that women could be formally installed as lectors...
Pelosi references Epiphany and St. Francis as House confirms Biden win
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referenced the Epiphany, St. Francis of Assisi, and also uttered a prayer as the House of Representatives reconvened the night of Jan. 6 to confirm the Electoral College win of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the November presidential election. The count had been interrupted by hundreds of marauders who breached the Capitol that afternoon, bringing the count to a halt.
Assault on U.S. Capitol shocks the world
The breach of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 sent shock waves around the world.
Chaos stops electoral vote count as Trump supporters mob U.S. Capitol
Supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, putting the building on lockdown and interrupting the count of electoral votes to certify the 2020 election, capping the last days of a tumultuous presidency with chaos.
Bishops: Getting COVID-19 vaccine is ‘act of charity,’ supports the common good
By Julie Asher | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The “gravity” of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and “the lack of availability of alternative vaccines” are “sufficiently serious” reasons to accept the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the chairmen of the...
Bishops: Getting COVID-19 vaccine is ‘act of charity,’ supports the common good
By Julie Asher | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The “gravity” of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and “the lack of availability of alternative vaccines,” are “sufficiently serious” reasons to accept the Pfizer/BioNTech and...
Court says N.Y. pandemic limits on houses of worship restrict religious freedom
In a 5-4 opinion, the Supreme Court late Nov. 25 sided with the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y., and two synagogues in ruling that some of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s pandemic restrictions on houses of worship violated the First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom.
Use of Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 vaccines is morally acceptable, say bishops
“COVID-19” is reflected in a vaccine drop that dangles from a syringe needle in this illustration photo Nov. 9, 2020. (CNS photo | Dado Ruvic, Reuters) By Julie Asher | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — While confusion has arisen in recent...
State’s lawsuit says Buffalo Diocese, bishops covered up failures on abuse cases
New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit Nov. 23 against the Diocese of Buffalo and Bishop Richard J. Malone, who headed the diocese from 2012 to 2019, and newly retired Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz.
Seeking the face of God? Look around you
By Mike Nelson | Catholic News Service How many of you, when asked, “How are you doing?”, have replied, “I’m just waiting for this year to end”? We have experienced in 2020 a pandemic like none we have ever seen, political turmoil like none we have ever seen, an...
Gomez: Nation’s leaders must now ‘come together’ with election of new president
With Joe Biden now elected as the nation’s 46th president, it is “time for our leaders to come together in a spirit of national unity,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
News organizations project Biden win; second Catholic elected U.S. president
Horns blared near the White House just before noon Nov. 7 as major U.S. news organizations projected Democrat Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States, making him the second Catholic in the country’s history to be elected to the nation’s highest office.
Blessed McGivney: Model parish priest with ‘zeal’ for Gospel, serving faithful
By Julie Asher | Catholic News Service Blessed Michael J. McGivney was “an outstanding witness of Christian solidarity and fraternal assistance” because of his “zeal” for proclaiming the Gospel and his “generous concern for his brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis said...
All Souls’ Day 2020 is poignant reminder of COVID-19
By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The feast of All Souls’ Day, when Catholics remember and pray for the dead, has weighted significance this year when so many have died of COVID-19 and the pandemic’s restrictions have...
‘It is an attack on everyone’: Bishops react to Nice basilica murders
By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Bishops in the United States and around the world expressed condolences after three people were murdered before Mass Oct. 29 in the basilica in Nice, France. French police have confirmed they are treating the killings...
All Saints’ Day: History and traditions
By Paul Senz | Catholic News Service The author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before...
Bishops tweet good wishes, prayers for Trumps, all suffering from COVID-19
President Donald Trump’s announcement he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 “is a sobering reminder of our shared vulnerability, but also our common responsibility for the good of one another,” Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich tweeted Oct. 2.
Pope to U.N.: Respect for each human life is essential for peace, equality
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis asked members of the United Nations how they think they can respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and build a more peaceful, more just world when many of their countries spend billions on military...
Trump announces Judge Amy Coney Barrett as U.S. Supreme Court nominee
Eight days after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Donald Trump announced Sept. 26 that Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a judge on the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, is his nominee to fill that seat.
In difficult times, hope sustains us
By Father Richard G. Malloy, S.J. | Catholic News Service “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Pt 3:15). Six Jesuits in our province infirmary in Philadelphia died from the coronavirus early on in the pandemic....
Many still recovering from Hurricane Sally, as Tropical Storm Beta hits Texas
By Catholic News Service PENSACOLA, Fla. (CNS) — As Tropical Storm Beta made landfall between Corpus Christi and Galveston, Texas, along the Gulf Coast the night of Sept. 21, the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee prepared to dispatch its “Caring Coach” to help those...
Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year and the Season of Creation
Submitted by Edward Judge | Diocesan Laudato Si’ Task Force On May 24, 2020, the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’, the landmark encyclical letter by Pope Francis “On Care for Our Common Home,” the Vatican announced a special “Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year” lasting...
In wake of Kenosha violence, U.S. Bishops’ Chairman for Committee Against Racism urges day of prayer and fasting
Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, La., chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, speaks Nov. 13, 2019, during the USCCB’s fall general assembly in Baltimore. (CNS photo | Bob Roller) From The United...
Head of Network remembers Lewis as ‘determined, forceful, thoughtful’
Lewis, who was an icon of the civil rights movement and a colleague of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died July 17 after a six-month battle with advanced pancreatic cancer. He was 80. Lewis represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional District from 1987 until his death.
Hard work, prayer can lead church to overcome racism, Bishop Fabre says
Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, La., chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, speaks Nov. 13, 2019, during the USCCB’s fall general assembly in Baltimore. (CNS photo | Bob Roller) By...
MLB’s first woman coach a ‘go-getter’ at Jesuit university
Another barrier in the sports world was broken July 20 when Alyssa Nakken coached first base in the late innings of an exhibition game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, thus becoming the first woman to appear in uniform on the field during a major league baseball game.
Catholic universities oppose ICE rule for international students
A man works with a laptop in this 2017 illustration photo. (CNS photo | Nguyen Huy Kham, Reuters) By Carol Zimmermann | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — U.S. Catholic college and university leaders have joined the nation’s higher education...
