National News
Bible publisher wins temporary injunction against HHS mandate
WASHINGTON (CNS) — A Washington-based federal judge made the right decision in granting a temporary injunction against enforcement of a federal contraceptive mandate in a suit brought by an Illinois-based Christian publisher, according to the lawyer representing the company. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled Nov. 16 that Tyndale House Publishers, which produces Bibles and […]
March for Life directors elect successor to late Nellie Gray
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Jeanne Monahan is the new full-time president of the March for Life Education & Defense Fund, which organizes and runs the March for Life in Washington each January. She succeeds the late Nellie Gray, founder and president, who died in August at age 86. Monahan, a former board member, had been serving as interim president since Gray's death.
New social media tools can help tell age-old Gospel story, speakers say
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CNS) — Modern social media tools can make the centuries-old Gospel message new again for Catholics as they renew their faith and for those who have been baptized but have never embraced the faith. That was the view of a group of workshop presenters, most of them Catholic bloggers, who examined the role […]
Trenton Diocese coping with historic storm’s impact
TRENTON, N.J. (CNS) — In the weeks since Hurricane Sandy waged a relentless 48-hour assault along the mid-Atlantic shoreline, carving a swath of devastation throughout and beyond the four-county Diocese of Trenton, the Catholic community has answered back in faith and solidarity. “Priests and parishioners, first responders and volunteers, community leaders and ordinary citizens, old […]
In Boston, 288 parishes to share limited resources in 135 ‘collaboratives’
BRAINTREE, Mass. (CNS) -- A pastoral plan approved by Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley calls for the Boston Archdiocese to organize its 288 parishes into approximately 135 groups called "parish collaboratives." Led by one pastor, a group of priests, deacons and lay ecclesial ministers, called a pastoral team, would provide pastoral services to parishes in the collaborative. Under the plan, each parish in the collaborative group will maintain its separate identity and retain control of its own property and assets.
Youths giving ‘absolutely incredible’ aid to storm victims
NEW YORK (CNS) — Father Donald Baker is really impressed by how young Catholics have really stepped up to help those affected the most by Hurricane Sandy. “The ‘millennials,’ those young people in the neighborhood who are in their 20s — who’ve become adults since the millennium — have been outstanding — absolutely incredible,” said […]
Americans United for Life files brief against HHS contraceptive mandate
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Americans United for Life filed a brief Nov. 13 in Nebraska v. Health and Human Services, a case initiated by the state of Nebraska and six other states challenging the HHS mandate requiring most employers, including religious employers, to provide free coverage of contraceptives. The Washington-based group filed the brief on behalf […]
Archbishop joins voices urging Obama to ‘seize moment’ on immigration
BALTIMORE (CNS) — The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration joined the broadening chorus calling on President Barack Obama and Congress to “seize the moment” and pass comprehensive immigration reform next year. In a statement issued Nov. 13 during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual fall general assembly in Baltimore, Los Angeles […]
Bishops agree on need for better preaching, more penance
BALTIMORE (CNS) — During their annual fall general assembly in Baltimore Nov. 12-15, the U.S. bishops voted down a document on the troubled U.S. economy, passed documents on penance and better preaching, approved a reorganization of their Communications Department and endorsed the sainthood cause of Dorothy Day. The bishops were to meet in executive session […]
Bishops warn Congress: Don’t let poor fall off fiscal cliff
BALTIMORE (CNS) — Congressional consideration of budget cutting to avoid the process known as sequestration should be careful to avoid hurting the poor and vulnerable in society, warned the chairmen of two committees of the U.S. bishops. In a letter to members of the House and Senate released Nov. 14, Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of […]