National News
Call to ‘ask not …’ still resonates in commitment to public service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated 50 years ago this week, admonished Americans to "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." He didn't live to see how it played out, but there are plenty of people trying to keep his vision alive.
As president, John F. Kennedy faced challenges of fast-changing world
DALLAS (CNS) -- A young first family, captivating and chipper, reinvented life in the White House during John F. Kennedy's 34-month presidency in the early 1960s. As Kennedy, then 46, arrived in Texas in November 1963, the visit came against a backdrop of the Cold War, the space race and the nation's volatile civil rights scene. Reflecting on the president who was assassinated 50 years ago this week, a historian argues Kennedy earned a reputation for inspired crisis management at a time when humanity grappled with unprecedented fears.
Boehner remarks raise questions on immigration reform
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Depending on how one interprets House Speaker John Boehner's recent comments on the prospects for immigration reform legislation to be passed in the House, it might be out of the question or the measure might just take a different form than the bill already passed by the Senate. According to one advocate of reform, the House can instead move to the floor five separate bills that deal with aspects of immigration reform, which have already moved through relevant committees.
Now-overturned abortion law aimed at protecting women, says archbishop
OKLAHOMA CITY (CNS) -- Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley called it "gravely disappointing" the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider a challenge to a ruling that overturned an Oklahoma law requiring women who seek an abortion to get an ultrasound.
Bishops send ‘special message’ reiterating objections to HHS mandate
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- In a "special message" released Nov. 13, the U.S. bishops reiterated their objections to the Affordable Care Act's requirement that employee insurance include contraceptive coverage and said they remain "united in our resolve to resist this heavy burden and protect our religious freedom."
‘Catholicism’ creator likes new media’s impact ‘way outside’ churches
SMYRNA, Ga. (CNS) -- Chicago priest Father Robert Barron has a dream -- for another grand, sweeping documentary on Catholicism. It's the latest goal for the priest who more than a dozen years ago was asked to jump-start an evangelical endeavor to "invade that space" where the church's message was not often heard. "If you want to reach people who are under 40, you have to use media. Things like YouTube had just come into being and we jumped into that with two feet," said Father Barron. "If you want to find the unchurched Catholics and the secularists, you aren't going to find them by staying in church and inviting them to programs. You have to use this new means. We have to invade that space."
Honolulu bishop calls same-sex marriage a ‘manufactured civil right’
HONOLULU (CNS) -- Following a special session of the Hawaii Legislature that for two weeks turned the state Capitol into high-spirited exhibition of populous democracy, Gov. Neil Abercrombie Nov. 13 signed the bill causing all the commotion and made Hawaii the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Newly elected USCCB president says he is rooted in simple values
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz grew up in Mahanoy City, Pa., in the Allentown Diocese. He graduated from St. Charles Seminary before ordination in Allentown, after which he was named a bishop in Tennessee and now Kentucky. He recognizes the need for "reaching out to people on the margins," he said.
USCCB adds staff position for Project Rachel post-abortion healing
The Project Rachael-related position will be funded by a grant from the Knights of Columbus, reflecting the recent practice not to add positions at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops unless an alternate funding source can sustain the position.
Bishops approve 2014 budget, 3 percent assessment increase for 2015
The 2014 budget that was presented to the bishops was "deemed to be more transparent than previous presentations," said a report by the USCCB Committee on Budget and Finance, which is chaired by Philadelphia native Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., who also is USCCB treasurer.