“We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law,” declared Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix in a diocesan letter.
The media report alleges that the former general of the commission that governs Vatican City discovered “chaotic management” and overspending.
The ruling ensures that the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion shields churches from laws meant to end employment discrimination.
While economic growth in Latin America continues, many of its poorest citizens complain the benefits have passed them by.
At least 161 people were indicted and nine were killed in extrajudicial executions in 2011 because of accusations of blasphemy.
The millions of refugees and migrants in the world "are looking for a place they can live in peace,” Pope Benedict XVI said on Jan. 15.