On Sept. 3 Sheila Gilbert became the first woman president of the National Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. • Havana’s Ladies in White asked the Catholic Church on Aug. 31 to mediate on their behalf with Cuba’s President Raul Castro to counter rising political harassment of their movement to free political prisoners. • About 1.4 million people showed up for World Youth Day’s overnight vigil and closing Mass on Aug. 20-21 at Cuatro Vientos Airport in Madrid; but organizers had planned for only about a million, and more than 250,000 pilgrims were turned away. • Australian bishops welcomed a High Court decision on Aug. 31 that granted a permanent injunction against the deportation of 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia. • The Catholic Conference of Ohio declared itself “neutral” on a November referendum on a new state law that seeks to diminish union collective bargaining rights. • The California Catholic Conference has asked Californians to call Gov. Jerry Brown Jr. to urge his veto of a bill that would allow children 12 and older to be vaccinated against sexually transmitted disease without parental consent or knowledge.
News Briefs
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
Just halfway through his period of convalescence, Pope Francis not only appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Easter Sunday to give the Urbi et Orbi blessing—to the city of Rome (“urbi”) and to the world (“orbi”)—but he also drove among the crowd in his jeep.
Against the backdrop of deep differences with the Trump administration over migration and foreign aid as well as concerns for Ukraine and for Gaza, the Vatican secretary of state welcomed U.S. Vice President JD Vance to the Vatican.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, attended the liturgy with his wife, Usha, a practicing Hindu, and his three children after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier in the day.
My Catholic identity and my wife’s Protestant identity continue to endure, and our faith has developed together in greater harmony, knowing that our love for each other was ultimately grounded in our love for God.