National News
Supreme Court divided about religious schools in scholarship program
The case, prompted by Montana's exclusion of faith-based schools from a tax credit program, could have major implications for education-reform debates and policies.
Poll finds 70% of adults support abortion restrictions
A survey by Marist College earlier this month found that "Americans have a very nuanced understanding of the issue and want their public policy to reflect that as well."
Miami archbishop says Florida shouldn’t follow Texas’ refugee stance
Refugees make an important impact in the United States and should not be denied resettlement, wrote Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski in a Jan. 16 editorial.
Quakes severely damage historic Puerto Rico convent of Sisters of Fatima
The order's sisters, many of them elderly, have been sleeping in tents while engineers and architects work to assess the viability of the buildings. Find out how to donate to the repair efforts.
USCCB brief: ‘Actual innocence’ warrants Florida capital case retrial
Citing "overwhelming evidence," the U.S. bishops told the Supreme Court Jan. 17 that claims of "actual innocence" by death-row inmate James Milton Dailey must be resolved on merit and "cannot be dismissed on any procedural grounds."
After probe is announced, bishop says he wants his ‘good name cleared’
As the Archdiocese of New York opened an investigation, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn denied accusations that he had abused a child decades ago while serving as a priest in New Jersey.
U.S. bishops’ pro-life chairman asks Catholics to serve mothers in need
The nation's Catholic bishops are being asked to invite the parishes in their dioceses to join a nationwide, yearlong effort called "Walking with Moms in Need: A Year of Service," beginning March 25.
Bishops’ visit to Rome renews sense of unity, mission, archbishop says
At a Jan. 21 Mass, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said that "ad limina" meetings with the pope and Vatican officials helped him and fellow prelates rededicate themselves to bringing the Gospel to the world.
Bishop Strickland says he asked pope about McCarrick report
During a Jan. 20 audience with Pope Francis, the Texas prelate followed up on the Vatican investigation into the former cardinal and how he managed to rise through the church ranks, despite longstanding allegations of abuse.
Supreme Court to reexamine contraceptive mandate for religious employers
The U.S. bishops have urged the justices to clarify the court's interpretation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and to avoid reducing " one of America’s leading civil rights laws to virtual impotence."