National News

Texas lawmakers fail to pass abortion control bill, will try again July 1

AUSTIN, Texas (CNS) -- The Texas Catholic Conference was "disappointed that the disruptions in the Senate chamber" prevented state lawmakers from passing a strict abortion law before a midnight deadline June 25. The bill would have banned abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Archbishop calls immigration reform debate a ‘defining moment’ for U.S.

DENVER (CNS) -- The nation's heated debate over immigration reform this summer is "a defining historical moment for America" and "a moment for national renewal" Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez told hundreds of attendees at the closing keynote address of the Catholic Media Conference June 21 in Denver.

Guantanamo Bay prison poses moral dilemma for White House

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A growing chorus of voices — from international human rights groups to grass-roots faith-based activists — are pushing President Barack Obama to finally make good on his pledge to close the military-run prison at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The bottom line for the organizations is that the basic human […]

Work, decent wages give people dignity, help families, says bishop

WASHINGTON (CNS) — On the 75th anniversary of the creation of a federal minimum wage, Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., addressed a Senate hearing June 25 about the importance of fair wages and the dignity of work. He said, “The new bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, recently remarked that work ‘fills us with […]

Listening with heart gives one courage to tell truth of faith, nun says

Telling the truth means that media professionals must overcome the temptation to be shrewd and secretive, Mother Dolores Hart told Catholic journalists June 20 in Denver. Leaving her cloistered Benedictine monastery to promote her new book, "The Ear of the Heart," was like seeing a movie in color for the first time. But the promotional tour also has awakened her to some of the harsh realities the Catholic Church is facing in modern-day society, added the nun, who is still a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

U.S. bishops view Supreme Court’s rulings as ‘tragic day for marriage’

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- U.S. Catholic bishops said the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 rulings on same-sex marriage were a "tragic day for marriage and our nation." Same-sex unions "copy marriage and family, and in the process, they compete with and diminish the uniquely important status of both," said Archbishop Charles Chaput in a statement. "The court got it wrong," said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco in a statement.

Supreme Court overturns federal marriage law on 5-4 vote

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, defining marriage as between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause, the Supreme Court ruled June 26 in a 5-4 opinion. In a separate case, the court declined to hear a challenge to California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved initiative barring same-sex marriage in that state. The apparent result is that same-sex marriage will again be legal in California as soon as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally dismisses the case, as the high court instructed it.

U.S. Supreme Court overturns key provision of Voting Rights Act

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court June 25 overturned the part of the Voting Rights Act used to determine that 15 states have had to comply with the law’s protections for minority voters. The 5-4 decision said: “Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional; its formula can no longer be used as a […]

Court kicks back college quotas case; takes clinic protests, visa cases

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court June 24 kicked back a university affirmative action case to a lower court and took cases for the next term dealing with buffer zones for protests at abortion clinics and whether the children of immigrants lose their place in line for visas when they turn 21. Remaining cases to […]

Salt+Light uses Internet to send Chinese programming to mainland

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Salt+Light TV, the Toronto-based Catholic television programmer, is using the Internet to send its Chinese-language programming to mainland China. And, unlike some of the North American giants of online services, Salt+Light's programming is not getting blocked by Chinese censors.