By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The 15th annual report on the implementation of the U.S. bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” shows a decrease in allegations of clergy sex abuse from the two previous years but also indicates the need for continued vigilance since charges were raised …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God wants his disciples to bring his mercy and love to everyone, everywhere on earth, which means it may cost them their “good name,” comfort and their life, Pope Francis said on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Kennedy King Memorial Initiative By Mark Pattison NEW YORK (CNS) — By all accounts, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, shot down June 5, 1968, as he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, was the most devout Catholic among his siblings. A former altar boy who sometimes spoke of …

By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — With House passage of a new five-year farm bill in the rearview mirror and passage of a Senate version looming straight ahead, it’s going to take a House-Senate conference committee to reconcile what is turning out to be considerably different versions of the farm …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Defending the weak or hopeless and becoming a servant to those most in need is the best promotion one can ever receive, Pope Francis told new and old cardinals. “None of us must feel ‘superior’ to anyone. None of us should look down …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced June 27, the last day of the Supreme Court’s current term, that he is retiring July 31. Less than an hour later, President Donald Trump said he would move quickly to nominate a …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Leah Millis, Reuters By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — By a 5-4 majority, the Supreme Court declared June 27 that one of its rulings from 1977 was “wrongly decided” and overruled it, in a case on whether public-sector unions could continue to make nonmembers pay fair-share fees not …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy University of Dayton By Steve Larkin WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’,” which was promulgated June 18, 2015, has provided both a motivation and a framework for Catholic universities implementing sustainability projects. The encyclical, which has acquired a reputation as the “environmental encyclical,” has made …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 June 26 that a California law that placed requirements on crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion violated the First Amendment. In its decision in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, the court found …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Michael Reynolds, EPA By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a 5-4 decision June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people entering the U.S. from some Muslim-majority countries, saying the president’s action was within his power. The court’s much anticipated decision in …