Notre Dame's swing at Obama is, unfortunately, deserved

By Douglas W. Kmiec
Four years ago, Notre Dame fought to award President Barack Obama an honorary degree. This week, the Fighting Irish have effectively sued their honorary graduate in federal court.
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LCWR the 'elephant in the room' at celebration of San Francisco archbishop

By Brian Cahill
San Francisco Catholic Charities honored Archbishop George Niederauer at its annual Loaves and Fishes event April 29. While he was being honored for his leadership and support of Catholic Charities programs and services, it was obvious that everyone at the banquet, regardless of where they come down on religious liberty, women religious, gay marriage or any of the other hot issues within our church wanted also to honor this good man for his most important role -- being the pastor and shepherd of his flock.
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43 Catholic dioceses, groups sue to stop HHS contraception mandate

By Nancy Frazier O'Brien, Catholic News Service
Forty-three Catholic dioceses, schools, hospitals, social service agencies and other institutions filed suit in federal court Monday to stop three government agencies from implementing a mandate that would require them to cover contraceptives and sterilization in their health plans. "Through this lawsuit, plaintiffs do not seek to impose their religious beliefs on others," said one of the suits.
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Irish association calls for resurgence of Vatican II's spirit

More than 1,000 join Association of Catholic Priests' conference
By Michael Kelly
DUBLIN, Ireland -- "A real experience of hope and of the presence of the Spirit among us all" -- that's how organizers of a major meeting of Irish laity, religious and priests to discuss the future of the Irish church described the May 7 event. Hosted by the Association of Catholic Priests, which represents about 25 percent of Ireland's active clergy, the event heard repeated calls for a return to the spirit of the Second Vatican Council and a culture of dialogue within the church.
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Dismantle NATO, or better yet, have the N stand for nonviolent

By John Dear SJ
John Dear SJ
"NATO doesn't work anymore. Let's dismantle this arcane network of war makers whose fundamental purpose is the service of U.S. military interests and create a new global network for nonviolent conflict resolution, which serves the whole human race by leading us toward a new world of peace." That's the message from the weekend, when thousands marched in Chicago against the largest meeting of NATO in its 63-year history.
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Open letter to the U.S. bishops: Let's not be a laughingstock, OK?

By Robert Blair Kaiser
Back in the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas warned his fellow scholars about taking positions that brought ridicule upon the church. "Ne fides rideatur," he said. Literally, "Don't let the faith be laughed at." Last week, we learned the U.S. bishops were launching an investigation into the supposedly subversive activities of our Catholic Girl Scouts.
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Another Legionary priest caught in scandal

A high-profile American priest in the Legionaries of Christ has acknowledged having had a sexual relationship with a woman and fathering her child, adding another chapter to the growing scandals surrounding the controversial religious order.
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Student loan debt may prevent many U.S. Catholics from entering religious orders

WASHINGTON -- Student debt might be forcing many Catholic U.S. college graduates considering religious life to postpone or even forego testing their vocation, a new study reports. "In essence, they're too poor to take the vow of poverty," commented the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which conducted the study.
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Hierarchy's inability to mourn thwarts healing in church

The Catholic hierarchy from the papacy on down seems to be roiling through a series of manic episodes in which they execute perverted power plays against those perceived as enemies. This kind of mania often is exhibited by large identity groups whose power has been threatened and who are unable to respond adaptively to that loss through a process of healthy mourning.
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Lorettos celebrate two centuries of touching lives

Theirs was a meeting of the minds, and of faith. Like a Christ-impelled pebble dropped into the sea of humanity, their meeting created waves of movement. She was Mary Rhodes, a young Maryland woman come to Kentucky to visit her brother, Bennett. He was Fr. Charles Nerinckx, a transplanted Belgian priest who’d fled the European anti-Catholicism stoked by the French Revolution.
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California abuse conference focuses on bishops' accountability

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Though a daylong summit on the clergy sexual abuse crisis in mid-May brought together a wide-range of leading experts on the topic -- from those who firmly defend the U.S. bishops' moves to address the issue to those who sometimes vehemently point to their weaknesses -- each seemed to find a key point of resonance.
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D.C. Archdiocese, Georgetown spar over Kathleen Sebelius speech

By David Gibson, Religion News Service
Tensions between the Archdiocese of Washington and Georgetown University are escalating ahead of a scheduled address Friday by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a conflict that is becoming a microcosm of the political battles raging inside the Catholic church.
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