News

Nebraska state senators overrode Gov. Pete Ricketts' veto of a bill repealing capital punishment that had been supported by the state's Catholic bishops.In a 30-19 vote May 27, the senators supported a bill that replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison without parole.The

Church leaders cannot be indifferent to the plight of immigrants, and it is "inexcusable" not to promote cooperation between a host nation and countries of origin, Pope Francis told bishops from the Dominican Republic."It is important to integrate immigrants into society and to welcom

Human rights in South Sudan are abused "on the battlefield and in peaceful areas," and much of the country is without effective governance, church leaders said."People are being killed, raped and tortured," the South Sudan Council of Churches said in a May 26 statement signed by

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has said the church needs a "reality check" after Irish voters overwhelmingly supported same-sex marriage.Ireland was the first country in the world to put same-sex marriage to a popular vote and the May 22 poll was backed by 62 percent of the populatio

At least two major newspapers’ editorial boards and a dozen members of Congress have joined the chorus calling for an end to jailing families whose immigration cases are pending as well as other reforms of immigrant detention.The editorial boards of The New York Times and The Seattle Times May

Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero's preferential love for the poor "was not ideological, but evangelical," said Cardinal Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.The cardinal, who was delegated by Pope Francis to preside over Archbishop Romero's beatifi

The use of modern media to move and consume news of the beatification of Oscar Romero might be a fitting tribute to the Salvadoran archbishop.

Egypt's Catholic Church has pledged respect for the country's justice authorities after a deposed Islamist president was sentenced to death for alleged complicity in a planned jail break."After long deliberations, the Catholic Church has declared itself against the death penalty in gene

A funeral Mass will be celebrated May 21 at St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad for Benedictine Father Cyprian Davis, who died May 18 at Memorial Hospital in Jasper. He was 84.Father Davis wrote six books, including "The History of Black Catholics in the United States," published in 1990.

Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill on May 20 to abolish the death penalty by a big enough margin to override a threatened veto by Gov. Pete Ricketts.The measure passed 32-15 in the state’s unicameral Legislature. It would replace the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison.If lawmakers o