The U.S. bishops approved by a wide margin a plan to draft a document to examine the “meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the church” following a lengthy debate during their spring general assembly.
National News
Bishops Debate Communion Doc, Vote To Be Revealed Today
In a spirited two-hour debate Thursday, both critics and champions of a U.S. bishops’ doctrinal committee proposal to draft a document on the Eucharist cited timing and potential disunity as reasons why they were for, or against, the project.
Ruling Seen as Victory for Children, Foster Parents and Religious Liberty
As a consequence of the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling June 17 in Fulton v. Philadelphia, faith-based and other agencies across the country may not be forced by a government agency to violate their deeply held beliefs against placing children in households led by same-sex or cohabitating adults.
Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law’s Individual Mandate in 7-2 Ruling
In a 7-2 decision June 17, the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, saying the states that sued over the law did not have the legal right to do so.
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Catholic Agency in Foster Case
In a unanimous decision June 17, the Supreme Court said that a Catholic social service agency should not have been excluded from Philadelphia’s foster care program because it did not accept same-sex couples as foster parents.
U.S. Bishops Open Spring Meeting With Debate Over Eucharist Document
A motion to give individual bishops unlimited time to speak on a U.S. Bishops Conference doctrinal committee proposal to draft a document on the Eucharist was ultimately denied on Day One of their spring meeting, but not before a spirited, near hour-long, debate on the timing of the proposal.
Oh! My Papa: Songs to Enjoy on Father’s Day
While there have been hundreds of songs written about fathers through the years, some have left a lasting impression because of how powerfully their lyrics honor the family patriarch.
On DACA Anniversary, Bishop Urges Pathway to Citizenship for ‘Dreamers’
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee marked the ninth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program June 15 by urging Congress to act on creating a pathway to citizenship for its beneficiaries.
Archdiocese of Boston Gets First Vietnamese Parish
After decades of pleas Vietnamese Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston can now celebrate the Eucharist in their native tongue with the establishment of the archdiocese’s first Vietnamese parish on Sunday.
National Right to Life Decries New Bill Aimed at Codifying Roe v. Wade
The Women’s Health Protection Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House June 8 “would invalidate nearly all existing state limitations on abortion,” said Jennifer Popik, director of federal legislation for National Right to Life.