U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., raises the gavel during the opening session of the new Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 3. (CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)

U.S. Catholic leaders respond to GOP ‘repeal and replace’ health care proposal

by Catholic News Service March 8, 2017

Health care is not just another issue, but a “fundamental issue of human life and dignity” and “a critical component of the Catholic Church’s ministry.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, talks with Pope Francis as the arrive for the concluding session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican Oct. 18. At right is Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Dispatches, Politics & Society

Cardinal Nichols: Pope Francis’ ‘toughness’ will see the Catholic Church through reforms

by Michael J. O’Loughlin March 8, 2017

“Creating space for a variety of pastoral responses is not decentralization. It’s a response to the realities in which people live.”

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a rally at the annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 27. (CNS photo/Yuri Gripas, Reuters)

News, Politics & Society

Passing over Trump, Notre Dame to honor native son Mike Pence

by Michael J. O’Loughlin March 2, 2017

The selection of Mr. Pence ends months of speculation over whether one of the nation’s most prestigious Catholic universities would honor President Donald J. Trump

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool Image via AP)

News, Politics & Society

President Trump’s speech to Congress annotated with statements from Catholic leaders

by Michael J. O’Loughlin March 1, 2017

U.S. Catholic bishops have issued a flurry of statements about the many executive orders signed by Mr. Trump.

Philip Weiss of Rosenbloom Monument Co. reset headstones at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City on Feb. 21, 2017, where almost 200 gravestones were vandalized over the weekend (photo: Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

Faith, In All Things

U.S. Catholic bishops condemn recent anti-Semitic attacks

by Michael J. O’Loughlin February 24, 2017

“The Catholic Church stands in love with the Jewish community in the current face of anti-Semitism.”

In this May 31, 2014 file photo, Mass is celebrated at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Greenwood, Mississippi, the older of two Catholic parishes in the small Mississippi Delta city that share a pastor and some functions. (CNS photo/Patricia Zapor)

News, Politics & Society

Bishops oppose Mississippi bill to outlaw sanctuary cities

by Maureen Smith - Catholic News Service February 17, 2017

The bill would prohibit cities and institutions of higher learning from declaring themselves sanctuary cities. There are currently no sanctuary cities in the state, although the city of Jackson proposed such a declaration last year.

In this Jan. 6, 2017 file photo, Cardinal Joseph Tobin gives the homily during a Mass ceremony installing him as the new archbishop of Newark, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

News, Politics & Society

Newark’s Cardinal Tobin joins lobbying effort against Trump’s immigration ban

by Michael Catalini - Associated Press February 17, 2017

Newark Cardinal Joseph Tobin was one of the nearly 1,000 lobbyists, business people and politicians who rode the rails from Newark to Washington to press New Jersey interests in the capital.