The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 said the state of Florida’s death penalty system is unconstitutional because it allows judges, rather than juries, to determine whether a convicted criminal should be given a death sentence. Michael B. Sheedy, executive director of the Florida Conference of Ca

The risks of adding nuclear energy to South Africa’s power grid outweigh its economic benefits, the country’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission said as it called for a halt to nuclear procurement plans and a referendum on the issue. South Africa is in a financial crisis and cannot af

The bishops of the United States were “gravely disappointed” that the 2016 omnibus funding bill, passed on Dec. 18, did not include the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act. Without the measure, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic institutions that provide health ca

Drug kingpins are expert at cultivating Robin Hood images.

The first day of winter, Dec. 21, the winter solstice, is the shortest day and longest night of the year. For people who are homeless, it’s a night that represents the harsh challenges of living on the streets. For the past seven years, St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter, a ministry of t

Unprecedented flooding around the world drew the attention of Pope Francis during his last general audience of 2015 in Rome on Dec. 30. Noting several rain-driven crises, he said, “I invite everyone to pray for the victims of the calamities which in these days have befallen the United States,