News from United States & Canada covering parishes, dioceses, religious orders, community groups, homelessness, moral & political issues and pilgrims.
In unusually direct terms for an American church leader, Franciscan Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, President of Pax Christi USA, publicly criticised President Donald Trump during a webinar on 31 July, Lucy Grindon writes in the National Catholic Reporter.
"For this president to call himself pro-life, and for anybody to back him because of claims of being pro-life, is ...
Archbishop Thomas G Wenski, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Religious Liberty, and Archbishop Paul S Coakley, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, issued the following statement in response to reports of increasing incidents of church vandalism and fires across the United States.
"In the last few weeks, we hav...
The Catholic Bishops of Canada have released a message in which they urge the Canadian community to protect the vulnerable, especially the elderly, who have suffered so much during the coronavirus pandemic.
The bishops note that Covid-19 "has also brought a new awareness of the limitations we face as a society and the challenges of the conditions of those who are vulnerable." In particul...
On Tuesday morning, the US federal government took the life of Daniel Lewis Lee, in what became the United States' first federal execution in 17 years. Mr Lee, aged 47, was pronounced dead at 8.07am EDT.
Lee was convicted, together with another person, killing a family of three in Arkansas in 1996, during a robbery, and dumping their bodies in a lake. Lee always denied the killings. Earle...
The Little Sisters of the Poor recently went to the Supreme Court of the United States again to defend their community against attempts to force Catholic religious to provide contraceptive care, and again, the Supreme Court has recognized their right to religious freedom. By a vote of 7-2, the Court ruled in favour of the Little Sisters.
Archbishop Thomas G Wenski of Miami, chairman of th...
Catholic bishops have joined more than 1,000 faith leaders from many religious traditions to sign a joint statement to President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr urging them to halt the four federal executions scheduled for July ...
More than 50,000 migrant men, women and children, including newborn babies are currently being incarcerated in desperately overcrowded detention centres in the USA, where they are given poor nutrition and little access to medical care. Why? Because they are waiting for their immigration applications to be processed. In an open letter, Catholic organisations from across North America are app...
Bishop Michael C Barber, SJ, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has joined a coalition of more than 150 interfaith and civil society organisations calling on the US Congress to provide immediate federal aid to benefit low-income students in non-public schools. In recent weeks, more than 100 Catholic schools have announced that they...
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection has released the 2019 Annual Report - Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
The report is based on the audit findings of StoneBridge Business Partners, a specialty consulting firm headquartered in Rochester, New York, which provides ...
President Donald Trump appeared on EWTN's The World Over on Monday, to talk about a variety of issues, including capital punishment. "I am totally in favor of the death penalty for heinous crimes," he said - a sentence immediately followed by, "I am pro-life."
It bears noting that the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and appro...
Catholic Mobilizing Network, the national Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice, has joined the Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops in opposing a change in Texas execution protocols implemented last April, which bans chaplains and ministers from the execution chamber. The Texas Bishops filed an amicus brief Friday supporting the First Amendment ...
When the coronavirus pandemic lockdown restrictions came into force across East Anglia, closing churches overnight, the Catholic Diocese of East Anglia only had two churches across its 51 parishes with the capacity to live-stream Masses. Even the flagship St John's Cathedral in Norwich had no means to broadcast its Masses to thousands of parishioners at a time of unprecedented spiritual need.
Pax Christi USA has issued the following statement regarding President Trump's attack on 75 year-old Catholic peace activist Martin Gugino who was injured by two police officers during a peaceful protest last week in Buffalo, New York.
Last week, Martin Gugino, a 75 year-old Catholic peace activist from Buffalo, New York was shoved by two police officers during a peaceful protest, resulti...
On the day George Floyd was finally laid to rest, in his hometown of Houston, Texas, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston has given this reflection.
"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:5
Plainly stated, for it is plain to see, we in America have a ...
