National News
Missouri Catholic businessman to appeal judge’s decision on HHS lawsuit
ST. LOUIS (CNS) — A federal court ruling that rejected a Catholic St. Louis business owner's challenge to the federal mandate that employee health insurance cover contraceptives will be appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. District Judge Carole Jackson Sept. 28 granted the Obama administration's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed […]
US Catholics urged to renew commitment ‘to defend’ life during October
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- During October, designated each year as Respect Life Month by the U.S. Catholic Church, Catholics should "renew their personal commitment to defend all human life, especially the most vulnerable members of the human family," said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
Archbishop urges Catholics to follow pope’s ‘road map’ of faith renewal
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- In a wide-ranging address at the eighth annual Los Angeles Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia spoke of the "debris of failure" that must be dealt with if the Catholic Church in America is to be truly renewed. The archbishop said the obvious problems include the clergy sex abuse crisis, a decline in priestly vocations, struggling Catholic schools and parishes, years of deficit spending and unrealistic financial management, and drastic demographic changes.
True marriage ‘part of natural law,’ archbishop says in pastoral letter
Marriage is "not created by law or the state" because it is "a natural and pre-political institution," Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark said in a pastoral reflection issued Sept. 25. "How long would the state permit churches, schools or parents to teach their children that homosexual activity is contrary to the natural law if homosexual marriage were a civil right?" he asked. "Already in Canada and other democratic nations 'hate speech' laws have been used to harass or even arrest clerics who preach the biblical message about marriage."
St. Louis to host day of prayer to implore Mary’s blessing upon nation
ST. LOUIS (CNS) — St. Louis will host a National Day of Prayer in Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary Oct. 6. Several local lay Catholics, with the blessing of St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, have invited members of the Family of Mary to lead the day of prayer, which will be held downtown […]
Catholic leaders at Poverty Summit look at poverty’s causes, solutions
WASHINGTON (CNS) — When a few hundred people met in Washington recently to discuss ways to solve the nation's high poverty rate, one group was noticeably missing from the discussion: those actually living in poverty. That did not go unnoticed by participants and speakers who mentioned their absence and said they hope to add the […]
Cardinal encourages Catholics to help transform world with their faith
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a new pastoral letter, Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl offers an overview of what the Catholic Church is, so Catholics can better understand their role in it, and he encourages them to help transform the world with their faith. "The family of God is called his church. Its members, those baptized into the church, you and I, form a body with Christ as its head. In order to truly know Christ, one must know him in his body, the church," Cardinal Wuerl wrote.
Cardinal Egan, at UN service, says communications can be tool of peace
NEW YORK (CNS) — The communications revolution of modern times has given the peoples of the world an unprecedented opportunity to come together in understanding, Cardinal Edward M. Egan said at a prayer service for the opening of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Speaking to ambassadors and diplomats, including U.N. Secretary-General […]
Catholics must take action to protect religious liberty, speakers urge
JAMAICA, N.Y. (CNS) — Religious liberty is facing such grave threats in the United States that Catholics must take immediate and courageous action to defend fundamental values both in the public forum and in the privacy of the voting booth, according to speakers at a Sept 20 forum. More than 400 people assembled at St. […]
Bishop talks about Catholicism to crowd of Latter-day Saints students
OREM, Utah (CNS) — More than 1,000 students at the Orem Institute of Religion at Utah Valley University packed a lecture hall Sept. 18 to hear Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City speak about the Catholic faith. Bishop Wester’s visit was at the behest of the university’s LDS Student Association Interfaith Committee, which […]