Julie Asher

Retired Bishop Tod D. Brown, the third bishop of the Diocese of Orange, died early Oct. 15 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital after being hospitalized, according to the diocese. He was 86.

Before he became Florida's sixth inmate to be executed in the state this year, convicted murderer Michael Duane Zack concluded his final statement Oct. 3 with a message: "To Governor DeSantis and the Clemency Board: I love you. I forgive you. I pray for you."

A Holy See delegation at a Sept. 11-14 meeting of nations that are parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions urged nations that have not yet done so to sign the treaty, which "prohibits under any circumstances the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions."

The Maryland Supreme Court ruled Aug. 14 that the religious exemption in the state's Fair Employment Practices Act "bars claims (of) religious, sexual orientation, and gender identity discrimination against religious organizations by employees who perform duties that directly further the core mission(s) of the religious entity."

Barb Fraze, former international editor for Catholic News Service, is the recipient of the 2023 St. Francis de Sales Award from the Catholic Media Association.

A Catholic response to those experiencing gender dysphoria "must both affirm God-given sex and recognize the struggle of the person in front of us," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said in a new pastoral letter.

Wanting peace by working for justice "is a hard road to walk, my brothers and sisters," Sr. Patricia Chappell told attendees at the 2023 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington in the opening plenary session Jan. 28.

Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila called it irresponsible and a "flat out lie" for The Denver Post daily newspaper and some other local media to scapegoat Catholic teaching on human sexuality as a reason for hatred against transgender people and the wider LGBTQ community that led to a mass shooting at a Colorado gay bar.

A number of Catholic and other faith-based associations and groups, including dioceses, have joined in supporting an amicus brief filed in a court case on how the Biden administration's proposal to broaden the interpretation of Title IX provisions could affect nonprofit organizations, including private schools.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops' domestic policy committee praised the Senate for tackling environmental concerns and lowering drug prices by passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

The chairmen of four U.S. bishops committees said July 27 that proposed regulations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on abortion, transgender services and other procedures threaten the Catholic Church's ability "to carry out our healing ministries" and others' ability "to practice medicine."

San Francisco's archbishop declared May 20 that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is not "to be admitted" to Communion unless and until she publicly repudiates her position on legal abortion.

"Serious thinking" about inequality in health care "is a task we can no longer put off," Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, told a New York audience,

Days ahead of a major Marian feast day in the Catholic Church, a marble statue of Our Lady of Fatima was vandalized.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops' migration committee and the head of Catholic Charities USA issued a joint statement Sept. 22 urging humane treatment of Haitians and other migrants as their numbers grow in southern Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops' migration committee marked the ninth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program June 15 by urging Congress to act on creating a pathway to citizenship for its beneficiaries.

President Joe Biden's proposed budget for FY2022 includes spending to improve and modernize the nation's infrastructure, provide free pre-K and community college, and increase domestic programs aimed at boosting public health and helping the poor. It does not include the Hyde Amendment.

Over a dozen nonprofit organizations, including Catholic Charities USA, praised the American Rescue Plan passed by the U.S. House early Feb. 27 for including "several provisions of importance to the charitable nonprofit sector."

About 60 pro-life leaders signed a letter objecting to confirmation of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, President Joe Biden's nominee to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“No Catholic in good conscience can favor abortion," San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said Jan. 21 in response to comments by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, during a Jan. 18 episode of a podcast hosted by Hillary Clinton.