National News
Justice Department argues denial of same-sex benefits unconstitutional
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Justice Department, in a brief filed Feb. 22 at the U.S. Supreme Court, said a federal law that defines marriage as between one man and a woman, denying financial benefits to legally wed same-sex couples, is unconstitutional.
Cardinal Dolan will go to White House to discuss mutual concerns with Obama
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan in a letter to President Barack Obama accepted a White House offer to continue discussing the Catholic Church's concerns about abortion, traditional marriage and federal rules governing implementation of the Affordable Care Act. "We accept your invitation to address these areas together, always with the civility we have both encouraged in public discourse," the president U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in the letter Feb. 22.
Religious leaders urge Congress to end budget brinksmanship
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Christian leaders, including representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called on President Barack Obama and congressional leaders of both parties to "frame the budget debate in terms of moral choices that are understandable to the American people" and find a budget solution that protects the poorest Americans.
Archbishop backs end to death penalty, says it offers ‘tragic illusion’
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (CNS) -- The Catholic Church's objection to the death penalty comes from its consistent teaching that life must be protected from conception to natural death, said Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori. "At the core of all of (the church's) public witness is an evident consistency that reflects our reasoned belief that every human life is sacred and to be protected, because every life comes from God, and is destined to return to God as our final judge," he said.
Canon law sets specific steps to follow before a parish can be closed
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Rarely is closing a parish easy. Even though the task has been undertaken countless times in the history of the U.S. Catholic Church as neighborhoods change and faith communities evolve, the process has received wider attention in recent years as the number of closings has escalated, prompted by changing demographics, fewer priests […]
To reach youths who have drifted from church, go ‘where they are’
OMAHA, Neb. (CNS) — Todd Christensen can’t really pinpoint when he started to drift away from the Catholic Church. Growing up, the 27-year-old attended Mass with his family and religious education classes at St. Leo the Great Parish in Omaha. But like so many young adult Catholics, that changed after high school when Christensen moved […]
US House passes bill to help storm-ravaged houses of worship rebuild
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Many churches "were the only shelter available to people who lost their homes" during Hurricane Sandy, said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., in arguing for federal assistance to help houses of worship still trying to recover from the storm. On Feb. 13, the House of Representatives passed a bill in a 354-72 vote that will allow Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster funding to go to churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and other houses of worship.
Parish volunteers fan out to help victims of severe Mississippi tornado
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (CNS) -- Just as they did following Hurricane Katrina and in response to other disasters, members of a Hattiesburg Catholic church joined together Feb. 16 and fanned out across the Hattiesburg area to help those impacted by the F-4 tornado that hit the area less than a week earlier. Nearly 140 volunteers met at St. Thomas Aquinas Church that morning for equipment, instructions and directions and then split into groups to help residents in six sites in the city most heavily damaged by the storm.
Objection raised over benefits to same-sex partners of military members
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. Defense Department's new policy that confers some military benefits on the same-sex domestic partners of members of the military undermines the traditional definition of marriage, two archbishops said Feb. 15.
Church in Illinois decries state Senate vote on same-sex marriage
CHICAGO (CNS) — The head of the Catholic Conference of Illinois decried a Feb. 14 Illinois Senate vote to permit same-sex marriage in the state, calling it “redefinition of marriage legislation.” “Marriage joins a man and a woman in love to meet one another’s needs, to procreate and to raise children. This is the lifeblood […]