Archdiocese of St. Louis

Aetna Life Insurance Company has been fined $1.5 million by the state of Missouri for violating several state laws, including one that forbids health insurance policies from covering elective abortions.

The Missouri Department of Insurance, in a Sept. 26 statement, noted that it is the largest insurance fine in Missouri history. Aetna is Missouri's sixth largest health insurance company, with premium sales of $340 million in 2011.

In the settlement, Aetna admitted to several violations of Missouri law. They include:

When Pope Benedict XVI met with bishops in Washington, D.C., during a visit to the United States in 2008, he posed a question:

"Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs?"

The question -- and his answer -- were prophetic.

"Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted," he said to the bishops. "Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel."

Sometimes it's hard to imagine what our purpose is in life. For the laity, in particular, it can be a tremendous challenge when faced with a secular culture that seems to go against everything the Catholic faith stands for.

But there is wisdom in Church teaching, according to Sister Mary Kathleen Ronan. Specifically, the laity are called to develop a deeper relationship with Christ within the everyday living of their own vocations, said the Sister of Mercy of Alma, Mich., who coordinates the lay formation program for Paul VI Institute in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

It's been called the Miracle in Brooklyn.

For more than two decades, Msgr. Philip Reilly and friends -- known as the Helpers of God's Precious Infants -- have been praying outside the Brooklyn Ambulatory Surgery Center. The center has long been considered one of the oldest and largest abortion clinics in New York City.

The leadership of the archdiocesan Office of Building and Real Estate is changing, but its mission remains the same: to serve the parishes, agencies and organizations of the archdiocese with their facilities and real estate needs.

No use complaining about this summer's drought, explained Bill Kaimann, a farmer in Lincoln County and member of Immaculate Conception Parish in Old Monroe.

"Whatever the Lord wants to give us," is his philosophy, shared by many others in the parish.

Kaimann, who has chosen to go without crop insurance, is "working for the Lord," he said, so his view is to just "do it all again" and see how it turns out.

The farm community around Immaculate Conception Parish has "a sense of ownership in their parish that I've never seen before," according to the parish pastor.