Who were some of the U.S. Catholics who were regularly in the news this past year?

All people have a moral obligation to their neighbors to practice social distancing, wear masks and avoid large gatherings. Christians, of all people, should recognize and respect that obligation.

The Trump administration’s speed-up of federal executions is bringing new scrutiny to Catholic judges. Nathaniel V. Romano, S.J., writes about the challenges facing the faithful in a pluralist political system.

The justices split 5-4 with new Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the majority. It was her first publicly discernible vote as a justice.

“The pandemic has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty,” Alito said in an address to the conservative Federalist Society, which is holding its annual convention virtually because of the pandemic.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to side with a Catholic social services agency in a dispute with Philadelphia over the agency’s refusal to work with same-sex couples as foster parents.