National News

One baby from 3 or 4 parents? Ethicists weigh in as FDA mulls research

A new technique creating "genetically modified humans" could pass on genetic alterations with unknown implications for future generations, ethicists fear. Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia deplored "destroying two other humans to reconstitute a third."

Spiritual approach to aging marks Little Sisters of the Poor ministry

The religious order runs nursing homes in Philadelphia and St. Louis where the sisters are available at any time to respond to residents' needs. Lay staff members do much of the work but the sisters' presence is unmistakable.

Vatican board OKs reported miracle attributed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen

A board of medical experts who advise the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has unanimously approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Archbishop Sheen. The full congregation and Pope Francis would have to approve the miracle cure of a stillborn baby for the archbishop to be declared "blessed."

Crisis in Ukraine ‘replay’ of what led up to World War II, says priest

PHOENIX (CNS) -- Russia's aggression against Ukraine is an extremely dangerous situation that should be of concern to all Americans, said a prominent Ukrainian Catholic priest. "We are seeing a replay of the lead-up to World War II going on now," said Father Andriy Chirovsky, pastor of St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church in Tucson and founder of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario.

Archbishop asks for Ash Wednesday prayers for Ukraine

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- U.S. Catholics stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as their country struggles with political tensions, said a statement from the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mid-Atlantic congress helps form Catholics for ‘faith-filled service’

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- What Dawn Sirface has learned at the Mid-Atlantic Congress for Pastoral Leaders enriches her ministry as the parish formation coordinator at St. Ann in Hagerstown.

Supreme Court upholds lower courts’ block of immigrant housing laws

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Two municipalities -- including Hazleton, Pa. -- that tried to make it illegal for people who lack legal immigration status to rent housing were rebuffed March 3 by the Supreme Court.

Marriage needs to be ‘preserved,’ not ‘redefined,’ says archbishop

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone urged the U.S. Senate to pass the State Marriage Defense Act of 2014, saying it is necessary to keep the federal government from circumventing state laws defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Survey shows major shift in U.S. Catholics’ view of same-sex marriage

A new survey indicated 58 percent of white Catholics and 56 percent of Hispanic Catholics now favor same-sex marriage. This is up 22 percentage points from 2003, when only 35 percent of Catholics overall supported same-sex marriage.

Catholic leaders join in asking Obama to protect U.S. religious freedom

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Two Catholics joined with eight evangelical leaders in asking President Barack Obama to defend religious liberty in the United States as he has defended it in other countries.