The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is revising its policies to no longer exclude houses of worship from applying for federal aid to recover from damages caused by natural disasters.
National News
Baltimore Pro-Life Centers Win Unfair Targeting Case
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down a Baltimore, Md., ordinance that would have forced pro-life pregnancy centers in the city to post signs stating they do not provide or refer for abortions or contraceptives.
Marquette Cross Fuels Debate Over Religious Freedom in US
Following pressure from two secular advocacy groups, a township in western Michigan is holding a public hearing over whether to remove a large cross on the shores of Lake Michigan honoring local explorer and Jesuit Father Jacques Marquette – an effort that one religious liberty group has criticized as another example of “militant atheism” in the United States.
FEMA: Houses of Worship Now Eligible for Disaster Relief
After months of legal appeals and pressure from religious institutions devastated by recent hurricanes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that houses of worship are now eligible to receive federal relief.
The Year in Review
While the Church’s engagement in the public square is often what attracts major headlines – and 2017 did not disappoint – the behind-the-scenes internal workings, and indeed controversies of the U.S. Church are equally important to remember.
The Year in Review
While the campaign promises made by candidate Trump were a source of great joy to the U.S. Catholic bishops during the first few weeks of his presidency, the rest of 2017 – with a few notable exceptions – would be marked by serious tensions between the administration and the hierarchy of the U.S. Church.
Young Edmundite Priests’ Aim to Evangelize with Their YouTube Show
“The Edmundite Show” is a weekly half-hour program on YouTube presented by Vermont-based Fathers Lino Oropeza and Michael Carter, priests of the Society of St. Edmund.
Priest Commits Suicide After Charges Are Made
A priest being investigated for “excessive and questionable” communications with a minor and possible misuse of church funds committed suicide, the bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, said.
Minn. Compensation Plan Ordered Back to Mediation
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., said a bankruptcy judge’s decision that the archdiocese should return to mediation with the other involved parties “bolsters our resolve to move forward in the bankruptcy process.”
Cardinal Law’s Death Creates Delicate Tightrope Act for US Catholic Leaders
The response to Cardinal Law’s death has been nothing short of a delicate tightrope act of witnessing to both the Christian hope of resurrection in death and great mercy in light of grave sins, while also duly acknowledging the continued pain of the clergy sexual abuse crisis – the most cancerous manifestation in the Roman Catholic Church, according to some observers, since the Protestant Reformation.