As projected winner of the 2020 election Joe Biden systematically announces his Cabinet nominees, one selection has already become a culture war flashpoint.
National News
As Administration Change Nears, Experts Urge Bipartisan Approach to Religious Freedom
At a time when the ideological makeup of Capitol Hill is more divided than ever, the nation’s international religious freedom czar is calling on the next administration to maintain religious liberty as a bipartisan issue.
Only in Print: Christmas Traditions Altered by COVID-19 Locally and Abroad
Pope John XXIII once said, “Mankind is a great, an immense family … This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas.” The Christmas spirit will still be alive — albeit in modified ways, due to the pandemic — thanks to how Catholic parishes and dioceses will continue their annual programming.
Michigan Project to Replicate Padre Pio’s Famed Hospital in Italy Is Underway
On a 40-acre plot of land in Howell, in the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, stands the humble foundation for the establishment of a worldwide network of health care facilities that St. Pio of Pietrelcina set in motion nearly 70 years ago. Padre Pio once said this was the most important thing he did. His dream was the project would one day expand to other parts of the world. That day has now come.
Colorado Grandma Pens 40,000 Christmas Cards for Troops Overseas
The past eight months of the pandemic have given many people the opportunity to try new hobbies and catch up on reading or binging on television. For Marlys Halbeisen, a 78-year-old grandmother from Wheat Ridge, Colo., she spent the time writing Christmas cards for U.S. military members overseas – 40,000 cards to be exact.
Federal Judge Orders Full Restoration of DACA Program
A federal judge Dec. 4 said the Trump administration must fully restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, after the program that protects qualifying young adult immigrants from deportation was suspended this summer by Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security secretary.
Bishop: Pandemic Has ‘Providential Opportunity’ for U.S. Catholic Education
Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane says the COVID-19 pandemic “has given us a providential opportunity to really examine why we have our Catholic schools in the midst of so much illness.” Bishop Daly chairs the Committee on Education for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
With Census Case, Catholic Teaching Says ‘Every Person Counts’
With time running out and a Supreme Court decision looming, Catholics continue to express disapproval of President Donald Trump’s desire to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 census.
‘Let My People Worship,’ Archbishop Says After California Church Decision
In response to the Supreme Court’s Dec. 3 order saying federal judges should take another look at pandemic limits on California churches, San Francisco’s archbishop said: “The time is overdue for our civil officials to work with us and other churches on worshiping safely.”
Catholic Youth and Hispanic Vote Not Monolithic, Panelists Say
It was clear through the 2020 election cycle that the Catholic vote wasn’t a monolith, what was surprising for some was that was also true for young and Latino Catholic voters that some pundits assumed would overwhelmingly support Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.