Nation/World News

USCCB issues statement on revised health care mandate

jenniferbrinker — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:25:51 +0000

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued the following statement in light of President Barack Obama's Feb. 10 announcement about the revised HHS health care mandate:

"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sees initial opportunities in preserving the principle of religious freedom after President Obama’s announcement today. But the Conference continues to express concerns.

Religious Liberty & Freedom of Conscience

lisajohnston — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:19:46 +0000

Bishops respond to White House blog post on health care mandate

lisajohnston — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:30:31 +0000

February 3, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued the following response to the Feb. 2 post on the White House blog.

Full text follows:

Catholic Advocate launches effort to rescind federal contraceptive mandate

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:31:30 +0000

Catholic News Agency

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new "Protect Our Conscience" campaign has been launched to help Catholic individuals, families and parishes voice their opposition to the newly confirmed federal contraception coverage mandate.

Pope Paul VI and Humanae Vitae: I told you so

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:31:07 +0000

Jennifer Brinker | jbrinker@archstl.org

The image has spread rapidly around social media networks: It's a photo of Pope Paul VI, and in the likeness of those popular inspirational posters, includes the saying, "Humanae Vitae No. 17: I told you so."

It's a humorous but stark nod to a reality that Catholic Americans are facing today: a slow, but sure dissolution of freedom of religion, this time through forcing artificial contraception upon Catholic institutions.

Same-sex marriage issue facing lawmakers, voters in several states

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:59:50 +0000

Carol Zimmermann | Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON -- The same-sex marriage issue will be facing lawmakers and voters in several states this year.

Democratic-controlled legislatures in Washington state, Maryland and New Jersey are considering legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage, while Maine voters will vote on a same-sex marriage referendum in November.

French president rejects calls for secular values to be in constitution

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:40:04 +0000

By Catholic News Service

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy rejected calls for secular values to be enshrined into his country's constitution and urged religious leaders to do more to spread their message in the country.

"A secular society is one which has decided to separate churches from the state, so the state doesn't have to account for its choices to churches, and churches don't depend on the state to live and organize — this is secularity, a secular republic," he told religious leaders at a traditional New Year meeting Jan. 25.

Bishops: mandate violates conscience rights, a Q&A

teakphillips — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:40:09 +0000

By the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

How important is the right of conscience in American tradition?

It has always been of paramount importance: "No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority" (Thomas Jefferson, 1809).

In the past, has the federal government respected conscientious objections to procedures such as sterilization that may violate religious beliefs or moral convictions?

Nigerian bishops deplore fatal attacks in North by Islamic group

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:09:01 +0000

By Sarah Delaney | Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY -- Two Nigerian bishops deplored bloody attacks in a northern city by a radical Islamist group, warning of deep social divisions and displaced populations, the Vatican missionary news agency Fides reported.

"They are destroying the hope of a united Nigeria," said Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Jos, referring to simultaneous attacks on government buildings by the extremist sect known as Boko Haram, Jan. 20 in the city of Kano, according to Fides.

Minnesota Catholic couple among missing in shipwreck

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:23:55 +0000

Theresa Malloy | Catholic News Service

WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. -- Friends and parishioners of St. Pius X Church in White Bear Lake reflected on the lives of Jerry and Barb Heil at an evening prayer service Jan. 18.

On Jan. 19, divers resumed the search for 21 people still missing after a Costa Concordia cruise ship crashed into the Italian coast Jan. 13. The Heils are the only Americans who remained unaccounted for among the more than 4,200 passengers. As of Jan. 25, 16 people died and another 16 were still missing.

At St. Pius X, about 450 people gathered to sing, pray, reflect, light candles and pay tribute to the Heils.

'Let it begin with me': Juarez parishioners work to change image

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:28:33 +0000

By Joseph J. Kolb | Catholic News Service

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- In a city that has become synonymous with violence and despair during a four-year drug war that has claimed more than 12,000 residents, parishioners at a small church are trying to change the image of Ciudad Juarez -- one person at a time.

Reflecting on the hymn lyrics, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me," Father Roberto Luna, pastor of Corpus Christi Church, urges the estimated 500 active parishioners in this impoverished and besieged neighborhood to live the life of Christ to the best of their abilities. He knows how daunting this task can be.

Pope warns of threat to freedom of religion, conscience in US

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:27:46 +0000

Francis X. Rocca and Sarah Delaney | Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI warned visiting U.S. bishops that "radical secularism" threatens the core values of American culture, and he called on the Church in America, including politicians and other laypeople, to render "public moral witness" on crucial social issues.

The pope spoke Jan. 19 to a group of U.S. bishops who were in Rome for their periodic "ad limina" visits, which included meetings with the pope and Vatican officials, covering a wide range of pastoral matters.

Prison, street programs help train seminarians in violent Mexican city

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:28:49 +0000

By Joseph J. Kolb | Catholic News Service

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- For several students at the Ciudad Juarez seminary, classes in theology and philosophy are integrated with experiences to prepare them for Church work in this violent city.

Every Sunday, Genaro Montes, 25, a third-year seminarian, travels with Father Alberto Mellandez, prison chaplain, to the notorious state prison on the edge of Juarez. Montes assists at Mass and with Scripture readings. Fifth-year seminarians Francisco Laoiza, 25; and Jesus Mendoza, 24, preceded Montes.

High court ponders rules on profanity on broadcast networks

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:58:38 +0000

By Mark Pattison | Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON -- After nearly a decade of threats, fines and court challenges, America may finally learn for sure whether the federal government has the authority to punish the airing of indecent material on broadcast television.

Or, we will get to see a continuing game of cat and mouse between the Federal Communications Commission and the broadcast networks to see where the line should be drawn and how thickly.

Supreme court ruling confirms church employment rights

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:01:12 +0000

By Patricia Zapor | Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON -- The direction the courts will take with other cases related to religious employment is far from clear, but the Supreme Court's Jan. 11 ruling opens a whole track of possibilities.

The decision in Hosanna-Tabor vs. EEOC held that fired teacher Cheryl Perich could not sue under federal disability discrimination laws, because the Michigan Lutheran school where she worked considered her a "called" minister.

Bishop Skurla named to head Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:55:10 +0000

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON -- Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop William C. Skurla of the Byzantine Eparchy of Passaic, N.J., as archbishop of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.

Archbishop Skurla, 55, will succeed Archbishop Basil M. Schott, who died in June 2010.

The appointment was announced Jan. 19 in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

His enthronement -- as the Eastern Catholic installation ceremony is known -- will take place April 18 in Pittsburgh.

New structure makes Healthcare West no longer officially Catholic

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:13:28 +0000

Catholic News Service

SAN FRANCISCO -- Catholic Healthcare West announced a restructuring Jan. 23 that will make it no longer an official ministry of the Catholic Church, while keeping it "rooted in the Catholic tradition."

Cutting-edge science: the Church and the study of anatomy has distinguished history

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:00:13 +0000

Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY -- Many readers of the Vatican's official newspaper might have been taken by surprise in mid-January by an article effusively praising a well-known exhibition of "plastinated" human bodies, which was making an extended stop in Rome.

"Body Worlds," which L'Osservatore Romano called a "wonderful ode to respect for the body," is an exhibition of preserved human corpses, displayed in often sporty stances.