VATICAN CITY – When Pope Benedict XVI gave President Barack Obama a Vatican document on bioethics, he was trying to be clear with him about church teaching and open a path to further dialogue, the Vatican spokesman said.Read More

VATICAN CITY – U.S. President Barack Obama, meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican July 10, gave the pope a personal letter from Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who was diagnosed more than a year ago with brain cancer.Read More

WASHINGTON – Now that Pope Benedict XVI’s long-awaited social encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”), has been released, a key question arises: Will the pope’s call to reform economic and social systems so they encompass broader moral values while focusing on human development be taken seriously by the world’s decision-makers?Read More

WASHINGTON – A U.S. House committee’s refusal to let an amendment on restoring the Mexico City policy go to the floor of the chamber eliminated a chance for debate on “an issue of serious concern to many Americans,” said a Republican congressman from Arizona.Read More

WASHINGTON – Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan, superior general of the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Michigan, said she sees nothing wrong with the Vatican checking in on women’s religious communities in the United States.Read More

VATICAN CITY – Emphasizing the importance of protecting human life, Pope Benedict XVI congratulated the government of Mexico for its decision in 2005 to eliminate the death penalty.Read More

Towson Catholic High School is closing after 87 years of operation. The school was founded and operated by Immaculate Conception parish. The pastor, Monsignor F. Dennis Tinder, announced the closure in a July 7 letter to families. A decline of more than 80 students and a deficit of $650,000 led to the decision.Read More

VATICAN CITY – The church’s position on bioethical issues got marked attention during Pope Benedict XVI’s meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama July 10.Read More