Staff Report A top American cleric in Rome, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, said in an interview with The Catholic Servant in mid-July that House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should not receive communion because of her continued anti-life political views.

By Lise Alves Catholic News Service SAO PAULO — Brazilian rancher Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura again has been found guilty of masterminding the 2005 assassination of U.S.-born Sister Dorothy Stang. A judge sentenced Moura to 30 years in prison after he was declared guilty just before midnight Sept. 19, the court …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — In his strongest public words to date on the subject of abortion, Pope Francis affirmed the sacredness of unborn human life and linked its defense to the pursuit of social justice.

By Catholic News Service LINCOLN, Neb. — Lincoln Bishop James D. Conley told Catholics in his diocese that just as he had hoped to do after his installation last November, he has traveled around the 23,800-square-mile diocese, “spending time with you and your families, getting to know you and your …

Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The Common Core State Standards — expectations for students to master in each grade level — have a love/hate/ambivalent relationship with the American public. The state-led initiative — adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia — has been embraced by many educators, viewed …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — When Pope Benedict XVI visited ground zero in 2008, he knelt alone and prayed inside the cement-walled crater where the World Trade Center once stood. As a sign of bringing light and hope to the dark memory of 9/11, the pope …

USCCB Release WASHINGTON — The Administrative Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), of which Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis M. Schnurr is a member, issued an urgent call for a political solution to the crisis in Syria. The bishops issued the statement on the first day of their …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — For the thousands of people who turned out for a solemn vigil in St. Peter’s Square, the power of prayer and hopes for peace are still mightier than the world’s weapons and wars. “Instead of using hatred, we are using prayer …

Staff Report Heeding Pope Francis’ call, Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis M. Schnurr released a statement Wednesday expressing hope that Catholics under his jurisdiction will participate in the pope’s day of fasting and prayer for peace concerning the conflict in Syria.

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — On the evening of Sept. 7, days before U.S. lawmakers vote on President Barack Obama’s proposal for a military attack on Syria, Pope Francis will lead thousands in St. Peter’s Square in a prayer vigil for peace. “We will gather …