National News

Amendment to U.S. Constitution urged to protect traditional marriage

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone wrote a letter of support to a Kansas Congressman who is sponsoring the Marriage Protection Amendment, and asked for supporters in the House of Representatives.

Former Planned Parenthood nurse calls abortion clinic ‘evil, sad place’

For two-and-a-half years, Marianne Anderson's work at an Indianapolis' abortion clinic sickened her. Comforted by the prayers of pro-life clinic protesters, she began to resist her work until she was fired by the clinic. At that moment her phone rang with a new job at a hospital.

Former prisoners rely on faith, support to get back on their feet

After doing prison time, men feel like everything is stacked against them. A Catholic-run halfway house in Nashville gives them a legitimate shot of rebuilding their lives.

Nun, two activists go to prison for protest at nuclear weapons facility

An 84-year-old Holy Child sister and two others admitted cutting through a fence at a Tennessee nuclear weapons complex, hammering off a chunk of the warehouse and praying. They said their actions were motivated by their faith and the necessity to end what they consider the evil of nuclear weapons production.

Jesuit scholar recalled for sharing love of Gospels as teacher, priest

WESTON, Mass. (CNS) -- Jesuit Father Daniel J. Harrington, one of the world's leading New Testament scholars, who died Feb. 7 after a four-year battle with cancer, "changed my life," recalled Jesuit Father James Martin.

Organizations weigh in on how Supreme Court should handle HHS mandate

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After ruling in 2012 that certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act stand up to constitutional scrutiny, the Supreme Court's next dip into legal challenges to the law focuses on whether for-profit secular employers can claim religious rights protections from some provisions.

Bishops: Ruling on Virginia ban ‘strips marriage of intrinsic meaning’

RICHMOND, Va. (CNS) -- A federal judge's decision to strike down Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional has dealt "a severe blow to the citizens of our commonwealth," two Catholic bishops said in a Feb. 14 statement.

New York bishops urge ‘love, respect’ for people with mental illness

ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) -- The Catholic bishops of New York urged compassion and acceptance for people suffering from mental illness in a new pastoral statement, and the state Catholic conference, their public policy arm, issued specific policy recommendations related to those with mental illness.

Washington state’s bishops back governor’s moratorium on death penalty

SEATTLE (CNS) -- Washington state's Catholic bishops praised Gov. Jay Inslee for declaring a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in the state and applauded him for urging there be "a public conversation on capital punishment."

Milwaukee Archdiocese files reorganization plan with bankruptcy court

MILWAUKEE (CNS) -- Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed the archdiocese's reorganization plan Feb. 12, with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.