In an unremarkable-looking conference room at a hotel in downtown Portland -- a city known for its dearth of traditional religious practice -- a gathering of Catholics from five states did something remarkable.

At the start of my senior year of college, I was taking the Eucharist every day. The problem was, I was not Catholic.

Roberts, now president of UMW, said these days, the Democratic Party seems to have lost its way when it comes to embracing supporters with a religious identity, including those he grew up with in coal country and whose faith drove them to work to elect those who believed that "all of God's children should have equal opportunity in this society."

A group of Catholic high school friends has kept in touch -- literally -- since graduating more than 30 years ago from Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington.

A new study conducted by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that children in Catholic schools are less disruptive and have more self-control than their peers in non-Catholic or public schools.

The U.S. Catholic Church's 2018 religious freedom observance begins June 22, the feast of two English martyrs who fought religious persecution -- Sts. John Fisher and St. Thomas More -- and ends June 29, the feast of two apostles martyred in Rome -- Sts. Peter and Paul.