WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, the chairman of the U.S. Senate's Committee on Appropriations releases the text of several appropriations bills which, like their Houston counterparts, currently exclude several longstanding, bipartisan provisions like the 46-year-old Hyde Amendment and the Weldon Amendment. Eliminating these provisions would force taxpayers to pay for elective abortions and would have the effect of forcing health care […]

WASHINGTON – In May 2021, Pope Francis invited the global Catholic Church to gather and reflect on communion, participation, and mission within the Church. The two-year process of listening and dialogue is themed, For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, & Mission being referred to as the “synod on synodality,” which the Holy Father officially opened with Mass at Saint Peter’s […]

WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week, November 7-13, 2021. Dioceses across the U.S. will hold events to foster an appreciation for all vocations and pray specifically for those discerning a vocation to ordained ministry and consecrated life. In his message for the 58th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope […]

WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, as Bishop of Crookston. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on October 18, 2021, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The biography for Bishop Cozzens may be found here. The Diocese of Crookston is comprised of 17,210 […]

WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will gather for the 2021 Fall General Assembly in Baltimore, November 15-18. This will be the first in-person meeting of the full body of bishops since November 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the June 2020 spring meeting was canceled, and the November 2020 fall meeting and June 2021 spring meeting were […]

WASHINGTON – In May of 2020, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty began tracking incidents of arson, vandalism, and other destruction at Catholic sites across the United States. October 10 marked the 100th incident: satanic and other hateful graffiti scrawled on the walls before Sunday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception […]

WASHINGTON – On October 8, the Biden Administration announced a Fiscal Year 2022 Presidential Determination (PD) of 125,000 refugees for resettlement through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). This is the highest PD since 1993 and follows four consecutive years of historic lows. During the previous fiscal year, which ended on September 30, the U.S. resettled only 11,411 refugees out […]

WASHINGTON – Lisbon, Portugal will be the host of the next international World Youth Day (WYD), from August 1 to 6, 2023. Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and Bishop Edward J. Burns of Dallas, the USCCB’s episcopal liaison to World Youth […]

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will be voting for the conference’s treasurer-elect as well as chairmen-elect for five standing committees during the 2021 General Assembly taking place November 15-18 in Baltimore. Each bishop elected will serve for one year as the treasurer-elect or as chairman-elect of the respective committee before beginning a three-year term at the […]

WASHINGTON – The Biden Administration has published a new rule rescinding the “Protect Life Rule” governing the Title X family planning program. That rule had the commendable effect of ensuring compliance with federal law by stipulating that Title X projects may not share office space or financing with abortion facilities and are not required to refer for abortion. The rescission becomes effective on November 8.  Archbishop […]