U.S. & World News

English bishop: Britain in ‘amazing political mess’ over Brexit
Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth voiced his opinion on Twitter Jan. 16, a day after the House of Commons overwhelming rejected the withdrawal agreement struck between Prime Minister Theresa May and the European Union.

Cardinal Wuerl acknowledges he knew of one accusation against predecessor
In a second letter issued in mid-January about what he knew and didn’t regarding abuse allegations involving his predecessor, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, Washington’s retired archbishop, apologized Jan. 15 for what he called a “lapse of memory,” clarifying that he knew of at least one abuse allegation against former U.S. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, but he had “forgotten” about it.

Former Planned Parenthood worker says ‘power of ultrasound’ changed her
When it comes to speaking her mind, Abby Johnson never holds back. Affable in a way usually described as down-home, as the mother of seven children, she finds that a certain bluntness suits her best.

Pro-lifers: N.Y. abortion bill could one day make being pro-life ‘a crime’
Officials at the New York State Catholic Conference are calling the Reproductive Health Act “worse than we thought it would be.”

Judge blocks expansion of religious exemptions to contraceptive mandate
A federal judge temporarily blocked the government from putting into effect new rules that would expand the exemption to the federal contraceptive mandate to the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious employers.

Shutdown won’t deter crowds from marching for life in nation’s capital
Neither snow nor sleet — nor partial government shutdown — will keep pro-lifers away from the nation’s capital for the March for Life Jan. 18.

Faith is passed on at home, pope tells parents at baptism
Faith isn’t something learned just by studying the catechism but rather is a gift passed on to children by the example of their parents, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Wuerl wrote papal nuncio of abuse claims against predecessor in 2004
Church officials confirmed that Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, retired archbishop of Washington, had forwarded an allegation of sexual misconduct against his predecessor, former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, to the papal nuncio in Washington in 2004.

U.S. can both secure border and treat migrants humanely, says bishop
Securing borders and humane treatment of those fleeing persecution and seeking a better life “are not mutually exclusive,” the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration said.

Trump visits Texas migrant center at invitation of nun on front lines
President Donald Trump got a brief look at the work of a well-known Catholic Charities-run refugee center in South Texas during a daylong trip to the border.

Catholic groups and others rail against Trump border ‘crisis’ speech
No sooner had President Donald Trump finished his Jan. 8 nine-minute speech, his first such event televised in prime time from the Oval Office, about what he called a “crisis” at the border, than Catholic groups and others began tearing apart his arguments.
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