The July 4 mass shooting brought devastation to another community in the U.S., and such a tragic situation "has become shockingly commonplace in our country," said the chairmen of three bishops' conference committees.
The Supreme Court seemed willing to find a compromise about a Catholic social service agency shut out from Philadelphia's foster care program for not accepting same-sex couples as foster parents.
Archbishop Paul Coakley delivered a plea on behalf of the planet Oct. 1 during a virtual policy briefing the U.S. bishops' conference held for the co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus.
Simply Spirit: The Catholic Church should not be vilified for accessing a greatly needed government program that protects its employees. But it can get tricky.
Catholics across the world have embraced and acted on environmental encyclical Laudato Si'. But the consensus among Catholic ecological leaders is those responses have been not nearly as widespread as Francis sought.
One bishop says it may take 40 years for the Catholic Church to fully grasp the wisdom of Pope Francis' environmental encyclical. Another says that, given the urgency of climate change, we don't have that kind of time.
The most intense discussion during the U.S. bishops' Nov. 11-13 meeting concerned whether opposition to abortion is the "preeminent" issue. Others called for attention to immigration and the environment.
Distinctly Catholic: To what degree have the U.S. bishops, and the staff they have assembled at the conference headquarters in Washington, embraced the magisterium of Pope Francis and to what degree are they resisting his lead?
Distinctly Catholic: Like the church, the meeting is traditional but unpredictable; mainstream society will largely ignore it; and it is difficult to believe in the current leadership.
