A retired Milwaukee priest has been barred from hearing confession and giving absolution, following an essay he wrote favoring legislation that would require priests to report child abuse they learn of during confession.
National News
U.S. Bishops Urge Dept. of Education to Keep Rule Protecting Campus Religious Groups
In response to a proposal from the U.S. Department of Education to rescind religious freedom protection for faith-based organizations on public university campuses, deeming them unnecessary, the U.S. bishops have asked the agency to preserve the protection, which it calls “common sense.”
Oklahoma Dioceses Hoping for Green Light on First U.S. Religious Charter School
An Oklahoma school board vote, postponed on March 21 and set to take place sometime before the end of April, has already received a fair amount of attention.
Suspect Pleads Not Guilty In Murder of L.A. Auxiliary Bishop O’Connell
The man suspected of killing Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell in his Hacienda Heights home pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing March 22.
Only in Print: Edmonia Lewis: A Sculptor For Her Time and Today
Edmonia Lewis’ story is one of triumph — over the festering prejudices foisted on people of color and women in the 19th century — to become a famed American sculptor of neoclassical marble works.
Catholic Immigration Advocates Protest Biden Administration’s Asylum Policies
Catholic leaders joined immigration advocates and representatives from other faiths on March 21 to protest at the U.S-Mexico border in Arizona, in front of the White House in Washington, and other locations around the country, speaking out against ongoing asylum restrictions at the U.S. border.
Pro-Life Groups Seek Commitments On Federal Abortion Limits From 2024 GOP Contenders
Pro-life groups indicated they plan to seek commitments from 2024 Republican presidential contenders on their positions on abortion in what will be the first presidential election cycle since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its Roe v. Wade decision.
Bishop Calls ‘Reproductive Justice’ Lecture Series With Abortion Doula ‘Scandal,’ ‘Unworthy’ of Notre Dame University
A lecture series on “reproductive justice” at the University of Notre Dame is advancing “activist propaganda” rather than “conducting a neutral inquiry or exploring the debates within this field,” Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, in whose diocese the university operates, stated in a sharply written March 21 column.
Santa Fe Archbishop ‘Ashamed’ of Abuse by Catholic Clergy
Less than three months after the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, reached an agreement in its yearslong Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, Archbishop John Wester has published an open letter to sexual abuse claimants saying that he is “ashamed” of what happened to them.
South Carolina Bill Criminalizing Women for Having Abortions Loses Support
A South Carolina abortion measure introduced by Republican legislators in January has received a lot of attention for saying the state’s homicide laws could apply to women who have abortions – meaning they could potentially face 30-year prison sentences or the death penalty.