Pope John Paul II Dies After Long Struggle With IllnessPope John Paul II died on April 2 after a long struggle with illness, ending a historic papacy of more than 26 years. The Vatican announced the pope’s death at 9:54 p.m. Rome time, two days after the pontiff suffered septic shock and heart

Two articles about the Catholic Church’s process for granting an annulment of marriage were recently published in America: The Annulment, by Joseph A. Califano Jr. (11/15/04), and The Anguish of Annulment (2/28/05). We publish here a representative sampling of the letters prompted by these art

Federal Judge Denies Parents’ Bid to Reinsert Schiavo’s Feeding TubeAfter a Federal judge refused a request by the parents of Terri Schindler Schiavo to have her feeding tube reinserted, church officials condemned the decision and said that the brain-damaged woman must be given nutrition

New Lay Group Formed to Improve Church ManagementA group of U.S. Catholic bishops and lay church and business leaders announced on March 14 the formation of a group to be called the National Leadership Round-table on Church Management.Its goal is to help Catholic dioceses and parishes improve admini

Catholic Family Wants Justice, Not Death, for Murderers Involving I.R.A.A Catholic family’s campaign for justice has put increasing pressure on the Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein, and its military wing, the outlawed Irish Republican Army.Robert McCartney, 33, a forklift driver from the sma

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Display of Ten CommandmentsIn two cases argued on March 2 over displays of the Ten Commandments on government property, U.S. Supreme Court justices raised questions about the motives of government authorities who ordered the displays, about the difference between ver