News Briefs

In Rome on May 9, Sally Hodgdon of the United States, superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery, was elected vice president of the International Union of Superiors General, a body that includes 1,900 religious orders of women worldwide. • Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York on May 13 warned Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to prepare for “vociferous” and “rigorous” opposition if he attempts to expand New York abortion-rights. • Marking 40 years of ecumenical dialogue on May 10, Pope Francis told Pope Tawadros II, leader of 10 million Coptic Orthodox, that Copts and Catholics are united by an “ecumenism of suffering.” • The Rev. George Kloster, of the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C., was named Catholic Charities USA’s 2013 Volunteer of the Year on April 25. • The Obama administration said on May 3 that it would not seek to block a federal court injunction that allows Tyndale House Publishers, an Illinois-based Christian book publisher, not to comply with the contraceptive-coverage mandate for new health insurance plans. • The Society of Jesus in the United States announced on May 10 that Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J., will be the next president of the Jesuit Conference, beginning Aug. 1, 2014.