City commissions in McAllen, Texas issued the order earlier this week to Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley (CCRGV), which is headed by Sister Norma Pimentel.

Ashes marked the foreheads of parents as they waited outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – physical signs of the beginning of Lent, which would also serve as tragic markers of the crosses they bore after a gunman opened fire on the school last February 14, killing 17 teachers and students and wounding over a dozen others.

Following a trend throughout the country, New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses released on Feb. 13 the names of its priests credibly accused of sexual abuse.

In response to accusations to allegations that Cardinal Francis Spellman groped a West Point cadet during his time as archbishop of New York, the archdiocese of New York has said it is taking the claim seriously and invites the victim to formally contact the archdiocese.

Days after the pope acknowledged abuse of nuns and sisters by priests and bishops, the largest U.S. organization of women religious thanked the pontiff for shedding “light on a reality that has been largely hidden from the public,” but the group also called for measures to address the issue.

In the wake of the Supreme Court and the state of Alabama denying a Muslim inmate’s request to have an imam present at his execution, Catholic leaders have decried the move as “disturbing” and an affront to religious liberty.

When Tony Pastoors was 5 days old in 1987, his mother kneeled in a hospital chapel to pray his life would be spared, after he was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, which attacks the colon. Now 31, Tony is vice president of football and business administration for the Los Angeles Rams football team.