Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi cited the Gospel of Matthew as the motivation for her focus on social justice issues and said that U.S. bishops have focused too narrowly on abortion at the expense of other societal challenges.

The bishops urged “particular care” be taken “to protect children and adolescents, who are still maturing and who are not capable of providing informed consent” for surgical procedures or treatments such as chemical puberty blockers.

What is the way out of polarization? And why does that question—along with the now-commonplace observation that society suffers from deepening divisions about everything from gun control to abortion to public funding for religious schools—seem so exhausting?

Read the responses to Christopher J. Kellerman, S.J., on the Catholic Church's history with slavery. Comments were gathered from the online version of the article.

Under the bill, an abortion would be considered homicide, subject to sentences of 30 years in prison or the death penalty.

This St. Patrick’s Day we can find Irish Americans at the height of political power, but they may not be what predecessors like John F. Kennedy and Patrick Moynihan expected.