Archbishop Closes Parishes, Urges UnityArchbishop Sean P. O’Malley, O.F.M.Cap., of Boston announced on May 25 that 70 of the archdiocese’s 357 parishes would be suppressed in the coming months. In addition to the suppressions, five new parishes will be formed and five other church buildi

Judge Says Bishops Manipulated Review BoardThe head of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ National Review Board on sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy said on May 11 that a letter she wrote to the head of the bishops’ conference on March 29 prompted the U.S. bishops to decide they wil

Canon Law on Sanctions Leaves Much to Interpret People on one side ask why bishops don’t stop certain Catholic politicians from receiving Communion or even excommunicate them.Aren’t they openly defying church teaching on the most important subjectthe right to life? If such politicians do

Gregory: Denying Communion Over Abortion Is Last Resort"Denying Communion to a politician like Senator John F. Kerry, who supports legalized abortion, must be the last resort in a process to persuade the politician to uphold moral truths when voting," said the president of the U.S. Confere

Reactions Vary to Pope’s Comments on Feeding Although some see Pope John Paul II’s message at a recent Vatican conference as closing the book on the question of whether nutrition and hydration may be withdrawn from patients in a persistent vegetative state, others in U.S. Catholic health

Kennedy to Kerry: Catholic Candidates in Strikingly Different TimesWhen Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts ran for president in 1960, he faced a barrage of questions from a predominantly Protestant public, like, "How do we know you can separate your Catholic beliefs from your political re