By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — In a June 26 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that 35-foot buffer zones around abortion clinics — meant to keep demonstrators away — violates First Amendment rights. Supreme Court watchers suspect a decision in the other high-profile case being monitored …

By Francis Njuguna Catholic News Service  NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s Catholic bishops blamed “inherent corruption” and ethnic tensions for the country’s recent insecurity. A June 25 statement signed by the country’s 26 bishops said the “situation has been aggravated further by the rising political temperatures on both sides of the …

By Catholic News Service  SILVER SPRING, Md. — Msgr. Richard Hilgartner, outgoing executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship, has been named the new president of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, based in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring. Msgr. Hilgartner will assume his new role …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis‘ schedule for summer 2014 is almost an exact duplicate of the schedule he kept in 2013, except he will be making an August trip to South Korea for Asian Youth Day. Last year, he traveled to Brazil in July …

(Editor’s Note: This Catholic News Service report was originally released on March 19, 2014. With Fathers’ Day this weekend, the story has been reposted for your enjoyment.) By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — On the feast of St. Joseph, patron saint of the universal church and Jesus’ …

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service  NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. bishops gathered in New Orleans for their spring general assembly June 11-13, were urged to promote and support Catholic families. Among the bishops in attendance were the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R. …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Praying for peace in the Holy Land alongside leaders of long-antagonistic nations, Pope Francis called on God to act where human efforts had failed, to end what he described as violence inspired by the devil.

By Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON —The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation voted in early June to encourage the “lifting of the restrictions regarding the ordination of married men to the priesthood in the Eastern Catholic Churches of North America.”

By David Agren Catholic News Service  MEXICO CITY — A priest in north central Mexico has been stripped of his position by the Vatican and faces criminal charges in connection with alleged sexual abuse of a teenage boy. The case marks the first time the Catholic Church in Mexico has …

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