The U.S. Supreme Court declined, without comment, March 18 to take up an appeal by an Indiana Catholic couple whose child was removed from their home when they did not accept the teen’s transgender identity.
National News
Paulists Revamp Ministries, Showing Need to ‘Triple the Ask’ for Religious Vocations
An order of priests is revamping its ministries due to a downturn in vocations. According to the congregation’s communications director, the move highlights the church’s need to “triple the ask” for young men to consider religious life.
As Abortion Pill Case Approaches Supreme Court, Bishops Call for Prayers to End Abortion
In response to the upcoming Supreme Court case about access to the commonly used abortion pill, mifepristone, the U.S. bishops are calling on Catholics across the country to pray for an end to abortion.
Bishop Says VP Harris Should Visit an Organization at ‘Service of Life,’ Not Abortion Clinic
On the day Vice President Kamala Harris visited an abortion clinic in Minnesota, a first for a U.S. vice president, the head of the U.S. bishops’ conference Committee on Pro-Life Activities said she should have instead visited an agency or organization at the service of life.
In a First, Vice President Kamala Harris to Visit an Abortion Clinic
Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit a Minnesota clinic March 14 that performs abortions and provides reproductive care as one of the stops on her nationwide “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour.
Major U.S. Nitrogen Gas Manufacturers Ban Use of Their Products for Executions
Three of the largest manufacturers of medical-grade nitrogen gas in the U.S. have barred their products from being used in executions, the British daily newspaper, The Guardian, reported.
Court Blocks Texas Attorney General’s Move to Shut Catholic Migrant Shelter
A district judge in Texas has temporarily blocked an attempt by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to shut down a Catholic migrant shelter in El Paso, allowing the shelter to operate as normal while the standard civil process plays out.
Chicago Archdiocese to Cut Government Contracts, Reduce Staff
As part of a new strategic plan, Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Chicago has decided to transition out of 75 government contracts amid what the organization’s leadership has labeled an “increasingly complex and uncertain government funding environment.”
Archbishop, Activists Seek to Halt Execution of Intellectually Disabled Georgia Inmate
In response to Georgia’s planned execution of a death row inmate by lethal injection March 20, the archbishop of Atlanta has urged the state parole board for clemency and state anti-death penalty activists launched an online petition similarly asking the state to reconsider.
Iowa Legislators Propose Making Death of an Unborn Person a Felony
Iowa’s House Republicans passed a bill March 7 that would make it a felony to cause the death of an unborn person defined as “an individual organism … from fertilization to live birth.”