National News
Judges block expansion of religious exemptions to HHS mandate
UPDATED - Two federal judges temporarily blocked the government from putting into effect new rules that would expand the exemption to the federal contraceptive mandate to the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious employers.
All Americans urged to ‘stand together’ to reject religious bigotry
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is Hindu, said "no American should be asked to renounce his or her faith or membership in a faith-based, service organization in order to hold public office," as a judge was asked to do with the Knights of Columbus.
Catholic parish of teen who escaped abduction credits power of prayer
For nearly three months, parishioners at St. Peter Catholic Church in Cameron were praying for the safe return of one of their own -- 13-year-old Jayme Closs.
Abuse report’s claim of church cover-up called ‘misleading’
Evidence in the Pa. grand jury report does not support its conclusion of conspiracy by bishops, says a veteran journalist. He called for "some fact-based reality" to counter "the instant mythology that the Pennsylvania report has created."
Archbishop calls ‘9 Days for Life’ a ‘powerful prayer initiative’
The novena and related observances sponsored by the bishops' pro-life secretariat lead up to the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children Jan. 22, the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1973 decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton that legalized abortion.
Shutdown won’t deter crowds from marching for life in nation’s capital
Neither snow nor sleet -- nor partial government shutdown -- will keep pro-lifers away from the nation's capital for the March for Life Jan. 18.
Despite high turnover, number of Catholics little changed in Congress
The number of Catholics in the House, at 32.5 percent, is more than half again their representation in the U.S. population, which the Pew Research Center pegs at 21 percent.
Pro-lifers: N.Y. abortion bill could one day make being pro-life ‘a crime’
The measure will expand access to abortion in the state, despite being promoted as simply codifying Roe v. Wade. It not only increases access to abortion across the board, including late-term abortions, but also goes beyond Roe, which left some limits in place.
Sister Pimentel disappointed about not being able to address president
"I was looking forward to this roundtable discussion, but there was no discussion unfortunately," Sister Pimentel told The Valley Catholic, newspaper of the Brownsville Diocese. "There were certain people selected to speak, people who support the president's agenda," she added.
Cardinal Wuerl wrote papal nuncio of abuse claims against predecessor in 2004
Church officials confirmed that Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, retired archbishop of Washington, had forwarded an allegation of sexual misconduct against his predecessor, former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, to the papal nuncio in Washington in 2004.