Catholic News Service

Bishop Gregory Parkes of St. Petersburg, Florida, will be the next treasurer of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, taking office next November.

During the second day of their annual fall assembly in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops discussed, even though they weren't voting on, procedures they could use to restrict bishops removed from their position or reassigned due to sexual abuse allegations or "grave negligence in office."

Lying or being inauthentic is seriously wrong because it hinders or harms human relationships, Pope Francis said.

The U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved a pastoral letter against racism Nov. 14 during their fall general meeting at Baltimore.

The U.S. bishops discussed the establishment of a hotline devoted to collecting complaints about a bishop's alleged abuse of a minor, sexual harassment, misconduct involving adults or failure to respond to abuse accusations.

As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opened a Day of Prayer at the Fall Bishops General Assembly Nov. 12, John McKeon was the first to walk a path along Aliceanna Street outside the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.

Accepting an invitation by Moroccan King Mohammed VI, Pope Francis will make a two-day apostolic visit to Morocco next year, the Vatican announced.

Pope Francis named Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, arguably the Catholic Church's most respected abuse investigator, to be adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Scientists worldwide must serve humanity and the health of the planet, which means they must also propose viable solutions to problems and persuade government leaders and policymakers to implement them, Pope Francis said.

Even in societies increasingly marked by divisions and prejudice, Catholics gather every Sunday "in the Lord's name and acknowledge that they are brothers and sisters," Pope Francis said.

Although China and the Vatican signed a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops in September, persecution of Chinese Catholics continues.

A bishop must be "blameless" and at the service of God, not of cliques, assets and power, especially if he is ever to "set right" what needs to be done for the church, Pope Francis said.

The latest death penalty case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court was not about if a death-row prisoner should be executed, but how. And the newest member of the court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, could be the deciding vote on the outcome.

Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory has released a list of the priests, deacons, seminarians and religious credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor from 1956, when the diocese was established, until now. Atlanta became an archdiocese in 1962.

Archbishop Charles Chaput announced Nov. 8 that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is creating a new reparations program open to anyone abused by clergy in the archdiocese, explaining the archdiocese will fund the program and "pay the amounts that independent claims administrators deem appropriate."

The seven Catholic peacemakers who entered a naval base to symbolically dismantle nuclear weapons-armed submarines acted from the primacy of conscience rooted in their faith, the bishop of Jackson, Mississippi, told a Georgia court.

The Diocese of Nashville, as part of its ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability and pastoral care, has published the names of the 13 former priests who served in the diocese who have been accused of sexually abusing a minor.

A federal appeals court ruled Nov. 8 in favor of keeping in place the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, rejecting the Trump administration's efforts to end it.

Sometime in the weeks ahead, the Archdiocese of Agana will file bankruptcy and reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, Archbishop Michael Byrnes said Nov. 7.

Pope Francis has recognized the martyrdom of De La Salle Christian Brother James Miller, who was born in Wisconsin and was shot to death in Guatemala in 1982.