Pope Calls for Deeper Understanding of LoveIn his first encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI called for a deeper understanding of love as a gift from God to be shared in a self-sacrificial way, at both a personal and a social level.The pope said "love between couples, often reduced today to selfish se

Florida Court Overturns Voucher ProgramThe Florida Supreme Court struck down the state’s school voucher program on Jan. 5 in a 5-to-2 ruling that disappointed Florida Catholic Conference officials. The ruling said the Opportunity Scholarship program violates the state’s constitution, whi

Communist Restrictions Remain, Say CzechsThe Czech Republic bishops’ conference said it could seek international arbitration against a new religious law imposing Communist-style restrictions on church activities. We can’t understand why the state wishes to tie the church down with these

U.S. Bishops Support Condemnation of TorturePolicies that are unclear about the torture of prisoners damage U.S. international interests and credibility and are an offense against human rights, said panelists, who included a retired Army general, a former adviser to the Departments of State and Defe

Vatican Condemns Regrettable Incidents’: Attacks on Nuns, Arrests of Priests in China The Vatican has condemned two regrettable incidents in Chinathe beating of several nuns and the continued arrests of underground Catholic priests. The violence used against several defenseless religious women

Vatican Document on Homosexuals A long-awaited Vatican document drew a sharp line against priestly ordination of homosexuals, but in the process raised a series of delicate questions for church leaders and seminary officials. The six- page instruction, prepared by the Congregation for Catholic Educa

FEMA Gave Bishops Runaround on DisasterChurch officials got the runaround from the Federal Emergency Management Agency when they wanted to know what federal plans were for helping the regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina, said the head of the bishops’ hurricane relief task force. The harsh

Study Finds Catholic Teens Less Religious Than ProtestantsA wide study of U.S. teenagers has found that Catholic teens lag behind their Protestant counterparts on many measures of religious belief, experience and activity. Only 10 percent of Catholic teens, for example, said religion was extremely i

Support Urged for Anti-Torture Provision in Defense Department Appropriations BillU.S. law and policy about torture of prisoners is more about who we are than who they are, an adviser to the U.S. bishops told congressional staffers on Nov. 2. In urging support for an anti-torture amendment to the ap

Plight of Marginalized Palestinian ChristiansThe permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, made the following statement on Nov. 2 during the 60th session of the General Assembly in respose to the Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations