Each day, children on their way to Mount Carmel School pass through gates under the watch of armed security guards, and now city police officers who stop there on government orders after a nearby Catholic convent and school were broken into.The vandals stole money, tampered with security cameras and

A monthlong review of a key nuclear weapons treaty saw the nuclear powers stepping back from an opportunity to alter the status quo, much to the disappointment of Catholic peace advocates.

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