“Our first job is to listen, to be empathetic,” said Deacon Bernie Nojadera, the executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for the Protection of Children and Young People.

"Making this a gay issue is distraction, mostly, an attempt to place blame mostly (away from) from the clerical cover-up culture. It does a major disservice to women who were abused by the church and also a major disservice to gay priests."

The Special Olympics, founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, turned 50 this year, with this year's games held in Seattle. The Catholic community had joined in a winning pitch four years ago to host the Special Olympics for 2018 and were rewarded with the games.

Farr cited repeated cases in which diplomats ignored or overlooked the importance of faith and religion in dealing with sensitive matters, leading to decades of stumbles in diplomacy.

The U.S. bishops in 2003 published a pastoral letter, "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope," which listed principles of reforming U.S. immigration policy. But 15 years later, how do those principles translate into concrete legislative proposals?

The recipient of welfare money has to work at a job, be actively seeking a job or take part in a job training program -- and be able to document it -- to receive the cash assistance. Those who don't are at risk of having their funds cut off for months. For repeat offenders, it could be years.

Hundreds of American adults have called the Washington headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops seeking to provide foster care for the separated children.

An increase in calls to dioceses to report claims of clergy sexual abuse has happened before, and is likely to happen again in the wake of the credible claim lodged against Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, according to the head of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection.

While the acceptability of porn still holds minority status in the United States, it has climbed to 43 percent, according to Gallup Poll figures released June 5.

Ryan lauded the twin principles of subsidiarity and solidarity as the best approach to dealing with issues, rather than relying on government to solve every problem.