National News
Priest installed as head of new ordinariate during Mass in Houston
HOUSTON (CNS) — With the reading of a papal pronouncement and the presentation of the miter and crosier — symbols of his new pastoral office — Father Jeffrey N. Steenson received the title of “monsignor” and officially became the head of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter at an historic Mass at […]
Blaire: Catholic Church has long sought ‘decent health care for all’
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ domestic policy committee said that “long before the current battles” over health care reform and the federal contraception mandate, “the Catholic Church was persistently and consistently advocating for this overdue national priority” of universal health care. “Since 1919, the United States Catholic bishops have supported decent […]
Revision of HHS mandate ignores religious liberty concerns, say bishops
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic bishops across the country have expressed their disapproval of President Barack Obama’s newly announced revision to the contraceptive mandate in the health reform law, saying it does nothing to change what they and other religious leaders and organizations consider an intrusion on religious liberty. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius […]
Obama compromise on contraceptive mandate ‘unacceptable,’ bishops say
WASHINGTON (CNS) — In an move that appears unlikely to end the controversy over a federal mandate that all health insurance plans include contraception and sterilization free of charge, President Barack Obama outlined a plan that would allow religious employers not to offer such services to their employees but would compel insurance companies to do […]
Obama compromise on contraceptive mandate gets mixed reviews
WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a move that appears unlikely to end the controversy over a federal mandate that all health insurance plans include contraception and sterilization free of charge, President Barack Obama outlined a plan that would allow religious employers not to offer such services to their employees but would compel insurance companies to do […]
CPA leader says Catholic press key to covering religious liberty issues
CHICAGO (CNS) — Catholic Press Month, celebrated in February, “comes at a particularly critical moment” this year, said Greg Erlandson, president of the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada. The nation’s Catholic bishops “have made clear their concern with recent government regulations and the threat such regulations pose to religious liberty,” said […]
Half a century after Vatican II, a year of faith and debate
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Fifty years ago this October, Blessed John XXIII and more than 2,500 bishops and heads of religious orders from around the world gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for the opening session of the Second Vatican Council. Over the following three years, Vatican II would issue 16 major “pronouncements” on such fundamental […]
Catholic voters urged to press US government to rescind HHS mandate
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) — It will be up to Catholic voters to convince the federal government to rescind a recent decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to go forward with a mandate that all health insurance plans cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge, said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput. “Bishops can’t […]
Summit brings together pro-life lawyers, members of advocacy groups
WASHINGTON (CNS) — If the argument against abortion is “grounded in the concept of human equality, you kind of catch people off guard” because “it’s not a religious argument,” a University of Notre Dame law professor told a pro-life crowd gathered at the National Press Club in Washington. “Biology and modern science have confirmed that […]
Confession: Celebration of mercy, not trial before prosecution
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Priests hearing confessions need to replace any negative or aggressive attitudes with meekness and mercy toward the penitent, said a Vatican expert on confession. The sacrament of reconciliation “has led to a unilateral overemphasis on the accusation and listing of sins,” said Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a […]