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Calif. bill targets university healthcare links to Catholic hospitals, demands further moral compromise
A bill threatens to ban University of California health systems from partnering with institutions that follow Catholic ethics, prompting concern ideological motives on abortion and LGBT issues will damage longtime partnerships and limit medical care access.
Catholic school district in Canada mandates LGBT Pride Month awareness, staff training
While a Catholic school district in Ontario failed to pass a proposal to fly the rainbow-colored LGBT Pride Flag outside schools in June, the school board changed the proposal to say that staff should “raise awareness around Pride Month.” The board mandated staff training on the issue to encourage “shared understanding” and requested a review from the Ontario education minister.
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Reckoning with history, Long Island diocese names 101 clergy accused of sex abuse
The Diocese of Rockvillle Centre has released a list of 101 diocesan clergy it believes to be credibly accused of sex abuse of minors. The list is not meant to be complete, and most allegations date back decades.
Texas bill proposes longer waiting limit for divorce: a small step to strengthen marriage?
A Texas legislator has again proposed extending the waiting limit on no-fault divorce, a proposal that has drawn support from the Texas Catholic Conference.
Feds allege ex-executive embezzled children’s services non-profit for personal spending
Alleging embezzlement of over $200,000, federal prosecutors have filed charges against John Lynch, a former executive of the historically Catholic Michigan non-profit Holy Cross Children’s Services .
After Supreme Court victory, Colorado baker in court for declining gender transition cake
Jack Phillips, a Christian cake baker, was again in court for declining to make a cake that expresses messages contrary to his religious beliefs after an attorney who identifies as transgender filed suit over the bakery’s refusal to make a cake to celebrate a gender transition.
Human embryo, or a model? Resist 'depersonalizing' research, ethicist cautions
New “models” of early human embryos that cannot grow into full human beings provoke ethical questions about whether they are human beings. One ethicist warns that research should be halted out of caution until more is known, because of the ethical dangers and temptations in the experiments.
Medal of Honor chaplain Fr Emil Kapaun's body identified, as sainthood inquiry continues
Department of Defense investigators have identified the remains of U.S. Army chaplain and Servant of God Fr. Emil Kapaun among the unknown Korean War soldiers buried in a Hawaiian cemetery, much to the surprise and joy of the priest’s relatives and devotees in his home state of Kansas.
Despite denials, HHS nominee Xavier Becerra sued to take away nuns' religious freedom rights
Xavier Becerra, US president Joe Biden’s nominee for HHS secretary, did indeed sue to take away the religious exemptions for the Little Sisters of the Poor, and it is only “technically true” for the California attorney general to claim that he sued the Trump administration, not the Catholic sisters who joined the case in order to defend against threats to their rights, says an attorney involved in their case.
Iowa religious freedom bill sets 'highest standard' for government, backers say
An effort to restore strong religious freedom protections in Iowa has the backing of the state Catholic conference and others who say there should be a high threshold for any state interference with the free exercise of religion.
In far-reaching executive order, Biden redefines 'sex'
In one of his first acts in office, President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to interpret sex discrimination in federal law to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The move could impact high school sports, the privacy of single-sex bathrooms, faith-based organizations that are government grantees or contractors, and whether employees may face retaliation for voicing “discriminatory” religious beliefs.
Why 2021 is the Year of Dante
Dante Alighieri died 700 years ago, and Italy is ready to celebrate the author whose epic poem through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven has influenced the art, imagination, and faith of so many down the centuries.
Texas ends Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood
Texas will no longer provide Medicaid funds to abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood, with the last funds ending in February.
Biden's OMB nominee heads think tank with history of anti-religious freedom advocacy
President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to direct the Office of Management and Budget is Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and a major advocate of a federal mandate that has tied up the Little Sisters of the Poor in court over their opposition to contraception.
US Supreme Court: government agents violating religious liberty liable for monetary damages
Three Muslims who claim the FBI wrongly pressured them into becoming informants on Muslim communities may seek monetary damages as part of their lawsuit under a federal religious freedom law, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a decision that strengthens legal action on religious freedom problems.
New Catholic priests voice satisfaction in priestly life, but minority report 'troubling' adversity
A survey of recently ordained Catholic priests reports that the great majority find great satisfaction in their work celebrating sacraments and in their parish ministry, but there are also difficulties and areas for which they felt seminary life had left them unprepared.
Typhoon Goni hits Philippines, compounding damage of storms and coronavirus
Typhoon Goni has hit the Philippines, killing several people and causing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes as the country struggles to recover from two other recent major storms and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Pro-life Democrats make the case for a 22-week abortion ban in Colorado
As Colorado voters consider a ballot measure to ban abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy, pro-life Democrats have been vocal in support, stressing its mainstream appeal and the need to give care to vulnerable human beings who can survive outside of the womb.
Abortion is 'pre-eminent' human rights issue, St Augustine bishop says as election nears
Abortion is a “fundamental threat to the beginning of life itself” and Catholics can't be passive on the “pre-eminent” human rights issue, the right to life, Bishop Felipe Estevez of St. Augustine has said in a pre-election letter to his diocese's Catholics about the importance of conscientious political participation.
New Jersey bill would preserve abortion protections, even if Roe overturned
As change on the US Supreme Court puts the future of legal abortion in doubt, some political leaders in New Jersey are seeking to strengthen and expand legal abortion through proposed state legislation.