Cardinal William W. Baum, the archbishop of Washington from 1973 to 1980, died July 23 at the age of 88 after a long illness. He was a cardinal for 39 years -- the longest such tenure in U.S. church history.

'By setting the high goal, we actually force ourselves day by day to take action.'

'If society can protect itself without ending a human life, it should do so.'

An outpouring of sympathy and prayer washed over Tennessee for the victims of the July 16 shootings that left four Marines and the shooter dead.

The Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious entities are not substantially burdened by procedures set out by the federal government by which they can avoid a requirement to provide contraceptive coverage in health insurance, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled July 14.In a lengthy op

Adult stem cells, easily harvested from human bone marrow, umbilical cord blood and fat tissue, have a successful track record in treatments for more than 90 medical conditions and diseases, including sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma cancer and damaged heart tissue.Stem cells can be retrieved an

The Holy See welcomed Iran's historic nuclear deal and expressed hopes that more future breakthroughs be on the horizon on other issues.

One of the "most critical and perhaps dramatic signs" of the times is "the tremendous growth of the Hispanic population," said Arturo Chavez, president and CEO of the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio.That growth presents a challenge to the Catholic Church to meet

The primary sponsors of legislation legalizing physician-assisted suicide pulled the bill hours before a state Assembly hearing July 7, with its authors saying the bill was dead for this year.A group of Southern California Latino Democratic Assembly members broke ranks with their party to oppose the

Catholics will never be effective evangelizers if they are squabbling among themselves, and they cannot show the world how faith in Christ responds to the human yearning for freedom and peace if they are divided, Pope Francis said.