A federal judge has swept away claims of religious discrimination by plaintiffs including Catholic Social Services of the Philadelphia Archdiocese and ruled the church agency must provide home assessments for same-sex couples wishing to provide foster care for at-risk children in Philadelphia.
National News
Exorcism at Priest’s Home Follows Child Porn Arrest
An Idaho priest has been evicted from his home while he awaits trial for possession of child pornography – but the Diocese of Boise has wasted no time in having an exorcist, along with a 10-person prayer team, pray over his former house and selling it off.
Victory for Texas Bishops in Religious Liberty Battle Over Fetal Remains
As a case over whether the state of Texas can require fetal remains to be buried is argued in Federal Court this week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals handed the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops a major victory just hours before opening arguments began, saying they did not have to comply with a third party subpoena that would have required the bishops to release decades of internal correspondence over the issue of abortion.
NY Times Details Alleged Abuse By Cardinal, Settlements Received
NEW YORK (CNS) – A front-page New York Times article published July 16 detailed the alleged abuse of two seminarians in the Diocese of Metuchen, N.J., by then-Bishop Theodore E. McCarrick in the 1980s that resulted in settlements to each man.
Judge: Catholic Agency Must Consider Same-Sex Foster Couples
A federal judge has swept away claims of religious discrimination by plaintiffs including Catholic Social Services of the Philadelphia Archdiocese and ruled the church agency must provide home assessments for same-sex couples wishing to provide foster care for at-risk children in Philadelphia.
Dioceses Restate Policy on Politics After Criticism of Priests at Rally
Montana’s two Catholic dioceses have reiterated their respective policies on political involvement, saying that support for or opposition to a particular candidate by any representative of the diocese is not permitted.
Brett Kavanaugh Nominated to Supreme Court
Despite the fact that a new member of the Supreme Court could shape judicial precedent for decades to come, a number of Catholic legal experts say that with Monday’s pick of Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh, expectations of sweeping and immediate legal change on neuralgic issues such as abortion and gay marriage are premature.
Philly Nun Battles Sex Trafficking on the Streets of America
When most passers-by see young women on a street corner working as prostitutes, the standard reaction is one of judgment or scorn. But when Sister Kathleen Coll passes by, her reaction is one of pity and concern – and a recognition that in most cases, the women aren’t there of their own accord, but very often out of coercion.
USCCB Migration Chair Signs Petition for ‘American Approach to Immigration’
Bishop Joe Vásquez, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, has joined over 50 leading law enforcement officers, faith leaders, national security officials, and business professionals in an Independence Day statement calling for greater treatment and welcome of immigrants and refugees to America.
Bishops Close Border Visit Calling for Family Unity, Compassion
“We are a nation of laws, and we are also a nation of compassion.” That was the mantra of an early July visit by a delegation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to the epicenter of the immigration crisis, the Brownsville-McAllen area in Texas, right on the Mexico border.