News
Archbishop Hebda: Driver’s licenses for all is a ‘moral imperative’
Archbishop Bernard Hebda joined a call Feb. 21 by immigrants, lawmakers, business and law enforcement representatives to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, calling the issue “a moral imperative.”
Vatican summit opens with acknowledgment of evil committed
Opening the Vatican summit on child protection and the clerical sexual abuse crisis, Pope Francis said, “The holy people of God are watching and are awaiting from us not simple, predictable condemnations, but concrete and effective measures” to stop abuse.
Bishops at summit consider 21 action items to handle, prevent abuse
Immediately after asking bishops and religious superiors to be concrete in confronting the clerical sexual abuse crisis and the need to protect children in the Church, Pope Francis handed them a list of 21 action items to consider.
Survivors Speak: What Vatican summit must do to stop abuse
Abuse survivors and support groups were very clear about what they want the world’s bishops, religious superiors, the pope and the Vatican to do to protect children and end clerical sexual abuse.
Covington Catholic student sues Washington Post for $250 million
The Catholic high school student at the center of an encounter with a Native American tribal leader in Washington filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit Feb. 19 against The Washington Post claiming the newspaper’s coverage of the incident was biased.
Supreme Court throws out inmate’s death sentence due to mental disability
For the second time in his case, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed an inmate’s death penalty sentence because of his intellectual disability.
Ahead of abuse summit, survivor says church is on borrowed time
On the eve of a major summit on the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, survivors said concrete action, not words, must be made to restore the trust of those who have suffered at the hands of members of the clergy.
Legislature considers counseling ban that could affect faith-based therapy options
While condemning the abuse some have suffered through so-called “conversion therapy,” Catholics and others who testified before a Minnesota legislative committee Feb. 13 said a bill to ban some counseling of children and vulnerable adults on same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria is overly broad and would limit patients’ treatment options. It would also violate First Amendment rights of therapists and other providers, they said.
Seminary’s 15th rector installed Feb. 11
When Father Joseph Taphorn officially became rector of The St. Paul Seminary Jan. 1, he was somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, bound for Israel and Jordan for a monthlong visit to the Holy Land. The 14 SPS seminarians with whom he was traveling had toasted him in the airport before their plane left New York.
Victim assistance coordinators comfort in a behind-the-scenes ministry
Their work begins with a phone call.
Whether the call is from someone who is angry, embarrassed, unsure of what to do or needs a friendly ear, diocesan and eparchial victim assistance coordinators are the face of the church’s response to victims of sexual abuse by a church worker — clergy or otherwise.
Court rejects abortion provider’s effort to get bishops’ internal documents
The U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 19 rejected hearing an appeal from Whole Woman’s Health, a Texas-based abortion facility chain, which aimed to get the Texas Catholic bishops’ internal communications about abortion.
Pioneering Navy pilot recalled for her humility, love of faith and family
Rosemary Mariner was full of firsts.
Social Networks