National News
Mission of Catholic schools to evangelize, sanctify, says archbishop
Amid banner newspaper headlines, and a stream of television stories about Catholic sexual morality clauses in the Archdiocese of San Francisco high school handbooks, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone presented his vision of Catholic education Feb. 6.
Measles outbreak prompts Hill hearing on falling immunization rates
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions convened Feb. 10 for a hearing on the current crisis of falling immunization rates among children in the United States in the wake of a recent measles outbreak that has, so far, affected 121 people in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
U.S. needs immigration reform, not more enforcement, bishop says
Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas Feb. 11 urged Congress to work for immigration reform but not through the path it is currently seeking with increased border enforcement, tougher criteria for immigrant families seeking asylum and a quicker return of immigrant children to their homelands.
Leaders see no gray area: ‘Fifty Shades’ assaults marriage and women
Bishops decried the new movie as "a direct assault on Christian marriage" and underscored "the moral reprehensibility of ... sexual exploitation." Commentator Teresa Tomeo blasted pornography's danger to women and relationships.
Former ‘drug czar’ warns about dangers of marijuana legalization
Opposition to the legalization of marijuana is on "the side of science and the side of fact," said William J. Bennett, a former U.S. secretary of education and former federal "drug czar."
Anticipation building for papal encyclical on environment
The much-anticipated encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment, expected sometime this spring or early summer, is generating a lot of buzz in Washington and elsewhere.
CRS says accusations against sex ed publication it uses are unfounded
Allegations that Catholic Relief Services used sex education materials in Rwanda that violated church teaching on human sexuality are unfounded, the agency said.
Organizations, annual weeklong observance celebrate, support marriage
While the week leading up to St. Valentine's Day had many thinking about candlelit dinners and those chalky candy hearts, some people were taking a more serious approach by celebrating matrimony.
Rulings advance ‘misunderstanding of marriage,’ say Catholic officials
Same-sex couples began marrying Feb. 9 in Alabama after the U.S. Supreme Court refused a request from the state's attorney general to prevent such marriages from taking place until the high court rules later this year on the constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage.
Lawyers: Feds don’t need to make Catholic entities cover contraceptives
A new chapter has been added in the ongoing fight against the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate.