by Joe Bukuras Paterson, N.J., Sep 15, 2021 / 17:32 pm Bishop Kevin Sweeney of Paterson wrote to clerics of his diocese Tuesday to ‘strongly encourage’ their vaccination against COVID-19. Non-medical exemptions, he said, will be minimal, and there may be discussion of whether non-vaccinated priests ‘can remain in active …

by Shannon Mullen Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 14, 2021 / 16:19 pm Twenty years ago, Father John A. Perricone sat down at his desk in the rectory of St. Agnes Catholic Church in midtown Manhattan and began to write. “I sit here writing this piece coughing on the fumes of …

By Jonah McKeown Syracuse, N.Y., Sep 14, 2021 / 19:00 pm A federal court on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order against a New York state COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which disallowed religious exemptions, after a group of anonymous medical professionals filed suit against the governor and her administration. Then-governor Andrew …

by Shannon Mullen, Joe Bukuras Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 14, 2021 / 08:10 am Priests of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 may not minister to the sick, elderly, and homebound, Bishop John Stowe has directed. The policy was announced during a Saturday vigil …

by Joe Bukuras Washington D.C., Sep 13, 2021 / 15:01 pm Tears flowed down the faces of Abigail “Abby” Agudelo’s classmates, as earlier this year she became the first student with Down syndrome to graduate from St. Augustine’s School in Andover, Massachusetts. “We know other parochial schools in Massachusetts are …

by Christine Rousselle Washington D.C., Sep 13, 2021 / 12:04 pm A California bill to replace a statue of St. Junipero Serra at the state capitol unfairly slanders the saint’s legacy, two archbishops claimed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Sunday, Sept. 12. Last month, California lawmakers voted overwhelmingly …

by Matt Hadro Washington D.C., Sep 10, 2021 / 08:04 am President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for many private employers, drawing criticism from the head of one Catholic health care ministry. “Coercing individuals into making a medical intervention is unjust,” said Louis Brown, executive …

by Matt Hadro Washington D.C., Sep 9, 2021 / 13:45 pm The Biden administration on Thursday sued Texas over its new law prohibiting most abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. In a complaint filed in a federal district court in West Texas, the Justice Department said the state …

by Shannon Mullen Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 8, 2021 / 15:12 pm He says the Taliban executed his father. And his brother. Now, they are hunting for him. “Please do something,” he wrote in a plea to CNA. He is a young Afghan, one of countless thousands still desperate to …

by Matt Hadro Washington D.C., Sep 8, 2021 / 16:00 pm The Archbishop of Washington on Wednesday clarified the Church’s teaching on when life begins, after Catholic President Joe Biden last week said life does not begin at conception. “The Catholic Church teaches, and has taught, that life – human …