The head of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development praises a new federal rule to cut down on the amount of toxins emitted from coal- and oil-fired plants.

Climate change is a faith issue because it deals with God's creation and with poverty, said Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa.

The administration it exploribng the wording of a religious exemption to a mandate that future health plans must cover contraceptives and sterilizations.

Congress must find ways to continue unemployment compensation to protect jobless workers and their families, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

November unemployment numbers released on Dec. 2 indicated a decrease in joblessness from 9 percent to 8.6 percent.

In every region of the country, death sentences have declined, which eventually will affect the number of executions.

The disputed report claims that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spent $26.6 million in 2009 on advocacy and outreach.

"For millions of American workers and their families, economic hardship continues and grows," said Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif.

The Rhode Island governor's decision “to avoid the word Christmas” in an invitation to a “holiday tree lighting” ceremony “is most disheartening and divisive,” said Bishop Thomas Tobin.