Life News

HHS saying 'To hell with you,' bishop says
Jan 27 2012
WASHINGTON (CNS) - A week after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told individuals and institutions who oppose contraception "to hell with you," as one bishop put it, members of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy were mobilizing their followers to fight.

Priest who survived cancer takes on challenge of Mount Kilimanjaro
Jan 24 2012
DES MOINES, Iowa – A pastor from the Des Moines Diocese has experienced a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with the hope that it will bring others to God.

Life, liberty at ‘core of our national character,’ Boehner tells rally
Jan 24 2012
WASHINGTON – Americans “as a people are pro-life” because life and liberty “are intertwined and form the core of our national character,” House Speaker John Boehner told the crowd gathered on the National Mall Jan. 23 for the 39th annual March for Life.

T-shirts, balloons and banners proclaim pro-life crowd’s convictions
Jan 24 2012
WASHINGTON – Mark Hosbein stood on the corner of a busy Washington intersection under the steady rain Jan. 23 with a small duffle bag at his feet and a simple message for passers-by: “Please consider spiritually adopting an unborn baby who is in danger of abortion.”

Silence is key ingredient to meaningful communication, pope says
Jan 24 2012
VATICAN CITY – Amid the deluge of information and nonstop chatter in today’s media, the church needs to help people find safe havens of silence, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Cardinal links religious liberty fight with abortion struggle
Jan 23 2012
WASHINGTON – Participants at the annual March for Life were urged in advance of the march not to let themselves be compromised in their beliefs as the federal government pursues regulations that Catholic leaders say constitute an attack on conscience and religious liberty.

Altoona-Johnstown bishop eulogizes Paterno as ‘good Catholic,’ friend
Jan 23 2012
ALTOONA, Pa. – Although Joe Paterno will be remembered as “a legend throughout our region and throughout our country,” Bishop Mark L. Bartchak said the iconic football coach will be best remembered in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown as “a good Catholic, a family man and a friend to many.”

Cutting-edge science: the church and the study of human anatomy
Jan 21 2012
VATICAN CITY – Many readers of the Vatican’s official newspaper might have been taken by surprise in mid-January by an article effusively praising a well-known exhibition of “plastinated” human bodies, which was making an extended stop in Rome.

Priest who survived cancer takes on challenge of Mount Kilimanjaro
Jan 20 2012
DES MOINES, Iowa – A pastor from the Des Moines Diocese has experienced a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with the hope that it will bring others to God.

Abortion leading to less respect for lives of disabled, archbishop says
Jan 20 2012
PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia hospital’s alleged refusal to provide a kidney transplant to a mentally disabled 3-year-old is yet another example of the harm caused in the United States by the Roe v. Wade court decision legalizing abortion, according to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

Archbishop Broglio speaks with pope about spiritual care of US military
Jan 19 2012
VATICAN CITY – The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a tremendous toll on members of the military and their families, said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, but military service also has strengthened the faith of many Catholics and even been a source of vocations.

Allowing same-sex marriage ‘not in the public interest,’ say bishops
Jan 18 2012
SEATTLE – Legislation introduced by lawmakers in Washington state that would redefine marriage to allow same-sex marriage “is not in the public interest,” said the bishops of the state’s three Catholic dioceses.

Venezuela’s bishops urge end to country’s political, social divides
Jan 17 2012
CARACAS, Venezuela – As the presidential election year begins, Venezuela’s bishops urged people to come together for the common good, “based on mutual respect and appreciation,” to close the country’s political and social divides.

Pope prays for migrants, refugees seeking a better life
Jan 17 2012
VATICAN CITY –The millions of refugees and migrants in the world are not numbers but people in search of a better life for themselves and their families, Pope Benedict XVI said.

‘Ad limina’ visit is occasion to reaffirm bond with pope, cardinal says
Jan 17 2012
VATICAN CITY – Bishops make their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on how well they have cared for their faithful, but also to give thanks to God for their bonds with the pope, the successor of the Apostle Peter, said Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington.