National News
Catholics join efforts to heal, clean up, move forward in Baltimore
As the city cleaned up after a night of riots, looting and fires following the funeral of Freddie Gray, Archbishop William E. Lori said the church's place is to pray, be a voice for peace, and participate in a wider community dialogue to solve the systemic issues that led to the unrest.
High court considers place of same-sex marriage in states that bar it
UPDATED - WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The questions raised by Supreme Court justices as they considered April 28 whether they should rule that same-sex marriage should be made legal nationwide covered a gamut of rights concerns -- religious, equal protection, states' ability to enact their own laws.
Advocates on either side of marriage case make presence felt
Advocates of traditional marriage were badly outnumbered by advocates of same-sex marriage, but those backing marriage as between one man and one woman had the benefits of microphones and speaker systems. The backers of same-sex marriage had to rely on lung power to compete with the amplification devices.
Panel agrees civil discourse key to dealing with church’s polarization
The panel, the first session of a two-day event titled "Polarization in the U.S. Catholic Church: Naming the Wounds, Beginning to Heal," called for improved understanding rather than acrimony among Catholic who holds differing views on various social issues. The discussion was streamed online.
Violence erupts as Baltimore lays resident to rest
For four hours April 27, Freddie Gray Jr. was patiently and prayerfully memorialized. That peace, however, was extremely fragile.
5,000 join March for Marriage three days before Supreme Court arguments
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called same-sex marriage "the greatest social experiment of our time" and said that "children do not need experiments," but rather the love of a mother and father at the third annual March for Marriage rally supporting traditional marriage on Capitol Hill.
Charlotte Catholic church will not host talk by Sister Jeannine Gramick
Sister Jeannine Gramick, censured for her opposition to Catholic Church teaching on homosexuality and marriage, will not be allowed to speak at a Catholic church in Charlotte.
Archbishop credits U.S. armed forces for respecting religious freedom tom
Catholic military chaplains continue to enjoy sufficient freedom and standing to carry out their ministry, the head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services told a group of legal professionals.
Catholics to press nuclear weapons ban at U.N. treaty review conference
It was April 11, 1963, as the Catholic Church was in the midst of the Second Vatican Council, that St. John XXIII issued his landmark social encyclical "Pacem in Terris" ("Peace on Earth") that included a call for a verifiable ban on nuclear weapons.
Missouri diocese’s apostolic administrator hopes for ‘grace, healing’
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, as apostolic administrator of the neighboring Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, said he hopes the coming months will be "a time of grace and healing" for the Missouri diocese.