Support for a religious exemption to the contraceptive mandate in the U.S. health reform plan is stronger among Catholics than among the general population.

María del Mar Muñoz-Visoso was named executive director of the Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church.

Catholic bishops should find out what is keeping victims of sexual abuse around the world from coming forward, said Bishop R. Daniel Conlon.

A new covert effort by Iran may represent its response to the assassinations of its nuclear scientists, widely attributed to Israel intelligence.

Human rights activists in the Democratic Republic of Congo are denouncing acts of violence by police against Catholic parishes and marchers.

Vatican officials dismissed as baseless the accusations of “corruption and abuse of power” made by the archbishop who is now apostolic nuncio to the United States.

A federal court in Mississippi on Feb. 2 dismissed a 10-year-old lawsuit accusing the Vatican of complicity in a scheme to bilk insurance companies for more than $200 million.

The bishops now argue that an exemption should include any employer who finds the mandated coverage morally objectionable.

“The economy is still leaving too many people without work,” wrote Bishop Stephen E. Blaire in a letter to Congress.