A Catholic advocate against the death penalty was encouraged by an annual report, released Dec. 1, that shows that 29 states either abolished the death penalty or paused executions this past year.
National News
Puerto Rico Prelate Honored for Leadership After Disasters
Archbishop Roberto González Nieves of San Juan, Puerto Rico, has received an award for his leadership in guiding Puerto Rico through rebuilding efforts after the nation was decimated by Hurricane Maria in 2017, and a series of earthquakes in the years since.
Idaho Officials Ask Supreme Court to Let Abortion Ban Stand While Case Is Argued
Idaho officials have asked the Supreme Court to put a temporary hold on a federal judge’s ruling preventing the state from enforcing its near-total abortion ban that would allow the state to prosecute physicians who perform abortions.
Texas Supreme Court Considers Request for Clarity on Exemptions to Abortion Ban
The Texas Supreme Court Nov. 28 heard arguments in a challenge to the state’s abortion ban after a group of women alleged that the law forced them to continue pregnancies despite grave risks to their health.
Catholics Call on UN Climate Conference to Hear the ‘Cry of the Earth’ and the ‘Cry of the Poor’
As the United Nations annual climate meeting kicks off Nov. 30, American Catholic leaders are calling for cooperation between global leaders to further transition the world to clean energy and for them to foremost consider the needs of the poor and vulnerable.
Laicized Priest Files FOIA Request on FBI Targeting of Traditionalist Catholics
Almost a year after the FBI’s targeting of traditional Catholics came to light, a conservative Catholic organization, led by a laicized priest, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out just how far the FBI’s investigation went.
Archbishop, Catholic Advocates Call on Oklahoma Governor to Commute Death Penalty Sentence
Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley and leaders of the Catholic Mobilizing Network that advocates against the death penalty have urged Oklahoma’s governor to grant clemency to a man scheduled to die by lethal injection Nov. 30.
Burlington Catholic Leader ‘Shocked’ by Shooting of Palestinian College Students
After three college students of Palestinian descent were shot in Burlington, Vermont, over the weekend in a potential hate crime, the interim head of the local diocese condemned the act and reminded Catholics that they are called to “become peacemakers in our cities, state, and in our world.”
After 191 Years, Oblate Sisters Are Honored for Heroic Ministry During Cholera Epidemic
The cholera epidemic that ravaged Baltimore in the summer of 1832 was one of the worst public health crises the city ever faced.
Bishop Barron Criticizes Synod Report’s Suggestion Scientific Advances Could Shift Church Morality Teaching
Bishop Robert E. Barron said he is in “frank disagreement” with a section of a report from the Synod on Synodality indicating that scientific advances could prompt “rethinking” of the church’s teaching on sexual morality.