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...
Retired Bishop Kmiec of Buffalo, N.Y., dies at age 84 after brief illness
Retired Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo, N.Y., is seen in this 2004 photo. He died July 11, 2020, after a brief illness. He was 84. (CNS photo | Rebecca A. Horton via Western New York Catholic) By Catholic News Service BUFFALO, N.Y. (CNS) — Retired...
Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. from WHO ‘deeply regrettable,’ CHA says
An exhausted health care worker in Houston takes a break July 7, 2020, as people wait in their vehicles to get tested for the coronavirus disease. (CNS photo | Callaghan O’Hare, Reuters) By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Catholic...
Ex-Salvadoran officer: ‘High command’ gave order to kill Jesuits in ’89
Salvadoran Gen. Rene Emilio Ponce, right, and his colleagues, Colonels Francisco Elena Fuentes, left, and Inocente Orlando Montano, center, are pictured in a 2000 photo during a news conference denying involvement in the 1989 deaths of six Jesuit priests, their...
Court rules in favor of employer exemptions to contraceptive coverage
In this 2016 file photo, Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, mother provincial of the Denver-based Little Sisters of the Poor, speaks to the media outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. (CNS photo | Joshua Roberts, Reuters) By Carol Zimmermann | Catholic News...
U.S. bishops welcome court decision on Catholic schools
The female figure called “Contemplation of Justice” is seen at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington July 2, 2020. In a 7-2 ruling July 8, the Supreme Court said the California Catholic schools sued for job discrimination for firing teachers had acted...
Faith leaders urge president, attorney general to halt federal executions
A Federal Bureau of Prisons building is pictured in the Brooklyn borough of New York City July 6, 2020. (CNS photo | Mike Segar, Reuters) By Ian Alvano | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Over 1,000 religious leaders have signed a joint statement...
Court says tax credit program can’t exclude religious schools
By Carol Zimmermann | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a 5-4 ruling June 30, the Supreme Court said the exclusion of religious schools in Montana’s state scholarship aid program violated the federal Constitution. In the opinion, written by Chief...
Catholic leaders denounce court’s rejection of federal death penalty appeal
By Carol Zimmermann | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — When the Supreme Court announced June 29 that it would not hear an appeal by federal death-row inmates challenging the method to be used in their upcoming executions, a longtime advocate against...
Court’s abortion ruling continues ‘cruel precedent,’ says bishop
By Carol Zimmermann | Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a 5-4 decision June 29, the Supreme Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals could not stand. The opinion in June...
Ex-Salvadoran colonel goes on trial in Spain for 1989 Jesuit murders
A former military commander accused of killing six Jesuits and two women working with the Society of Jesus during El Salvador’s civil war went on trial June 8 in Spain, offering hopes of justice for crimes that have wallowed in impunity for more than three decades.
Peace activist sentenced to time served
Catholic peace activist Elizabeth McAlister will not spend additional time in prison for breaking into a nuclear submarine base in Georgia in April 2018.
After ‘taking a knee,’ border bishop gets a call of support from the pope
Until June 1, no Catholic bishop had publicly participated in the gesture but that day, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, became the first, surrounded by priests from his diocese who also kneeled with him and holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign.
African American Catholic leaders urge justice, action to address racism
Justice is what George Floyd and his family and friends deserve, and justice “through equal and fair treatment under the law is what every person in this country deserves,” said the U.S. bishop who is president of the National Black Catholic Congress.
Bishops around U.S. express sorrow over Floyd killing, racism
Even as the United States still finds itself grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, outrage, grief, and anger over the latest killing of an unarmed black man outweighed caution as hundreds of thousands turned out nationwide to protest and many of the country’s Catholic bishops joined the calls for justice.
Pope calls USCCB president to express solidarity, support amid turmoil in U.S.
Pope Francis used his June 3 audience and a phone call with the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to express his solidarity and support following days of demonstrations protesting the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Cardinal suggests U.S. cities hold prayer events to promote healing
With anger and frustration still high in the United States over the death of George Floyd, religious leaders should organize ecumenical and interreligious prayer initiatives to bring people together and promote healing, said top Vatican official Cardinal Peter Turkson.
Pope prays for U.S., calls racism a pro-life issue
Observing with great concern the social unrest unfolding in the United States, Pope Francis said no one can claim to defend the sanctity of every human life while turning a blind eye to racism and exclusion.
Minnesota archbishop calls on Holy Spirit amid civil unrest, pandemic
Protesters in Minneapolis gather June 1, 2020. Demonstrations continue after a white police officer was caught on a bystander’s video May 25 pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd, an African American, who later died at a hospital. (CNS photo | Lucas...
Archbishop Gregory, Catholic leaders criticize President Trump’s visit to St. John Paul II Shrine
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Washington said he found it “baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violates our religious principles” by allowing the visit.
Protests confront killing of George Floyd, ‘a sin that cries out to heaven for justice’
Anger at George Floyd’s death has spurred protests in dozens of cities — including Binghamton, Syracuse, and Utica — over police brutality, the disproportionate health and economic burdens the coronavirus pandemic has unleashed in communities of color, and the country’s history of racism.
Bishops ‘sickened’ by Floyd’s death, say racism ‘real and present danger’
The U.S. Catholic bishops said May 29 they “are broken-hearted, sickened and outraged to watch another video of an African American man being killed before our very eyes.”
Churches begin navigating a gradual reopening with safety as top priority
By Jeff Thomas | Catholic News Service In recent weeks, U.S. dioceses have begun issuing their own plans for the gradual reopening of churches over several phases with the safety of congregants, priests, deacons and other parish staff foremost in the minds of Catholic...
Peacemakers sign ‘Pledge to Protect’ during pandemic as economy reopens
By Dennis Sadowski | Catholic News Service CLEVELAND (CNS) — Pax Christi USA has invited people to sign a new “Pledge to Protect” in which the signees promise to take personal responsibility for protecting others during the coronavirus pandemic as...
L.A. Archdiocese to begin opening churches under detailed safety measures
By Pablo Kay | Catholic News Service LOS ANGELES (CNS) — After being closed for more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, churches in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles can begin to open to the public the first week of June if they implement certain safety...
Trump says houses of worship ‘essential,’ directs governors to open them
President Donald Trump arrives to make a statement to reporters at the White House in Washington about reopening U.S. places of worship by declaring them “essential” May 22, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. (CNS photo | Leah Millis, Reuters) ...
