The Missouri House of Representatives Feb. 27 passed the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act, an omnibus bill that bans abortion when the heartbeat of an unborn child can be detected.

South Sudan's peace deal is fatally flawed, the country's bishops said as they committed the church to helping forge new negotiations. They also recommended a series of measures to end the conflict.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., applauded the Trump Administration's finalizing its "Protect Life Rule," which would prohibit funds from the Title X Family Planning Program being used by facilities providing abortions.

A recent Marist poll has found that Americans are about evenly split when it comes to their views on abortion. In a shift from the previous month's poll, more people who are under the age of 45 and who are Democrats and younger people have identified themselves with the pro-life position.

The U. S. Senate voted down (53-44) a measure sponsored by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), called "The Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act" which would have required immediate medical attention for babies that are born alive after an abortion.

Under a bill called: ""Removing Clergy Exemption from Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting," a controversial new measure offered by a California state senator, priests would be required to report to civil authorities what they learn in confession about sexual abuse.

From that would come increased dialogue and synodality within the church, and greater lay participation.

Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland, in releasing the list, said its publication was an "act of contrition" and an attempt to bring comfort to survivors of clergy abuse.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, the president of the U.S.C.C.B., speaks on the removal of Theodore McCarrick from the priesthood: "For all those McCarrick abused, I pray this judgment will be one small step, among many, toward healing.”

Cassin established and chaired the Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation in 2000 to help support private college preparatory middle and high schools in low-income communities.