National News
U.S. Catholic agencies seek funds to help minorities in Iraq, Syria
The Catholic Near East Welfare Association, Jesuit Relief Service, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Relief Services and Aid to the Church in Need are among Catholic agencies that have launched appeals to fund assistance to Christians and other religious minorities displaced in the Middle East.
Cleveland Diocese’s newspaper to end print publication in 2015
The Catholic Universe Bulletin began in 1874 as a weekly newspaper, converting to biweekly in 1982. Circulation has dwindled to about 35,000. Bishop Richard G. Lennon of Cleveland said he would begin exploring an alternative means of reaching Catholics in northeast Ohio.
Groups lash out at new opt-out rules for HHS mandate
Pro-life groups that have battled with the federal government since the first rules were issued on contraceptive coverage in 2012 derided the government's latest rules allowing religious institutions to opt out of the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
‘Catholics Come Home’ series to debut Sept. 4 on EWTN
The series consists of 13 30-minute episodes, each featuring an interview with someone who recently returned to the church as a result of a Catholics Come Home campaign and in response to "the call of the Holy Spirit."
Same-sex marriages in Virginia put on hold; Florida ban overturned
The Supreme Court put same-sex marriages in Virginia on hold Aug. 20, one day before the ban was scheduled to be lifted. The next day a federal judge in Florida struck down a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in that state.
New HHS rules for opting out of mandate miss the point, USCCB says
The Obama administration announced new rules Aug. 22 allowing religious nonprofits and some companies to opt out of coverage they oppose on moral grounds, such as contraception. Certain employers would need to notify the government of their opposition, and their employees would still receive the coverage. Meanwhile the Diocese of Greensburg in Pennsylvania won a permanent injunction against enforcement of the HHS mandate.
Archbishop Coakley drops lawsuit after stolen consecrated host returned
A stolen consecrated host that was at the center of a lawsuit filed by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley and intended for use at a planned Satanic "black mass" in Oklahoma City has been returned.
Pope phones family of slain U.S. journalist
Pope Francis called relatives of the late James Foley in a "long and intense" conversation Aug. 21 to console them for their loss and assure them of his prayers. Foley was killed by Islamic State militants in Syria.
Judge OKs ban on doctors prescribing abortion drugs via video system
An Iowa judge Aug. 19 upheld a state medical board's ban on a first-in-the-nation videoconferencing system that allows physicians in different locations to dispense abortion-inducing drugs to women in rural clinics.
At Mass, archbishop outlines steps to ‘dismantle systemic racism’
ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- With the strife and violence continuing in the aftermath of Michael Brown's shooting death by a police officer in Ferguson, more than 500 St. Louis Catholics gathered for a votive Mass for peace and justice Aug. 20 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.