Family Life

Bishops, back from Iraq, suggest ways Catholics, Americans can help
Nov 16 2011
The nation and American Catholics both can help keep Iraq from sliding into chaos once U.S. troops leave the country at the end of the year, said two U.S. bishops who visited Iraq for four days in October.

Cardinal urges Senate to drop abortion funding in appropriations bills
Nov 16 2011
WASHINGTON – Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo called on members of the U.S. Senate to remove four provisions “that pose a direct threat to innocent human life” from a package of three appropriations bills for fiscal 2012.

Bishop reports on success of ads aimed at strengthening marriage
Nov 15 2011
A series of advertisements for the U.S. bishops’ campaign to strengthen marriage have been successful in the numbers of people they have reached and the awards they have garnered from professional advertising organizations, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., said Nov. 14.

Senate committee passes bill to repeal Defense of Marriage Act
Nov 14 2011
WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Nov. 10 to repeal a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Reclaim truth about Jesus’ church, Archbishop Dolan tells bishops in Baltimore
Nov 14 2011
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on his fellow bishops Nov. 14 at their fall assembly in Baltimore to communicate to the world that the sinfulness of the church’s members is not “a reason to dismiss the church or her eternal truths, but to embrace her all the more.”

Bil Keane, creator of ‘Family Circus’ comic strip, dies at age 89
Nov 12 2011
WASHINGTON – Bil Keane, the Catholic cartoonist who originated the comic strip “The Family Circus” more than 50 years ago, died Nov. 8 at age 89 in Paradise Valley, Ariz., near Phoenix. The cause of death was given as congestive heart failure.

Bishop Spencer honors veterans on Veterans Day
Nov 11 2011
ELLICOTT CITY – In a Veterans Day homily at St. Paul in Ellicott City, Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer of the Archdiocese for U.S. Military Services challenged Catholics to never forget the needs of the nation’s veterans.

Giving thanks for ‘all things in good plenty’
Nov 10 2011
When Mary Chilton first spotted the New World in November 1620, the 13-year-old had been aboard the Mayflower for 10 weeks, stuck in the same clothes and cramped in dark, damp quarters among seasick passengers and dying goats. Each family was allotted one storage trunk for all their possessions.

Bumper-Sticker Ethics?
Nov 10 2011
In the recent Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Benedict XVI invites us to advance the new evangelization in the context of migration by “seeking ways of fraternal sharing and respectful proclamation, overcoming opposition and nationalism. For their part, the Churches of origin, of transit and those that welcome the migration flows should find ways to increase their cooperation for the benefit of those who depart and those who arrive, and, in any case, of those who, on their journey, stand in need of encountering the merciful face of Christ in the welcome given to one’s neighbor.”

Chaplains care for soldiers’ religious, morale needs, says chief
Nov 10 2011
ARLINGTON, Va. – Soldiers “are making life and death decisions” every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, and military chaplains “are out there in the field with them day in and day out,” said the Catholic priest who is the new Army chief of chaplains.

Two seminarians take different paths to same goal
Nov 09 2011
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two seminarians – a monk and a future diocesan pastor – say their differing paths complement each other.

Bishop Blaire calls for good stewardship to protect God’s gift of air
Nov 09 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The gift of clean air provided by God to humanity deserves to be protected through strong environmental stewardship by making changes in daily life so that fewer pollutants enter the atmosphere, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice Human Development.

CCHD refutes new charges that funded groups violate Catholic teaching
Nov 07 2011
WASHINGTON – Officials with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development refuted a report that 55 agencies funded by the U.S. bishops’ anti-poverty program in 2010-11 were in conflict with church teaching.

Catholics, Jews urged to work together to promote religious freedom
Nov 07 2011
NEW YORK – Catholics and Jews can most effectively capitalize on five decades of progress in their relations by joining forces to promote religious freedom, defend immigrants, face a common threat from fanatics and advocate for civility in politics and society, said New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan.

Bishops’ agenda more devoted to internal matters than to societal ills
Nov 06 2011
WASHINGTON – The U.S. bishops’ fall general assembly in Baltimore will be shorter than usual and focus primarily on the inner workings of the church than on larger societal issues.