UPDATED SAO PAULO, Brazil – Pope Benedict XVI and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva discussed youths, the family and social concerns when they met May 10. Before the meeting, some analysts speculated that the president would try to steer the conversation away from abortion, which was in the news in Brazil in the...Read More

EL PASO, Texas – An unidentified Mexican man and his wife, fearful to reveal their true identities, spoke recently to a group of reporters and immigration advocates in this border city about the violence that forced them to seek refuge in the United States.Read More

Amen Archbishop O’Brien! Your column (CR, April 15) headlined “Bait and Switch” hit a bull’s-eye, pointing out the cynical deception of the life-affirming series of photos in the Howard Street windows of Planned Parenthood, Maryland’s largest abortion provider. Planned Parenthood also successfully pressured the Baltimore City Council and Mayor Rawlings-Blake to pass an ordinance requiring...Read More

WASHINGTON – The U.S. bishops are studying a draft curriculum guide for Catholic high school religion courses across the country. Prepared by the Committee on Catechesis of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the draft sets the framework for six core semesters plus five elective courses from which schools may choose two – preferably in...Read More

Memorial Day is a legal holiday, observed annually on the last Monday in May to honor our nation’s armed forces who served gallantly in too many campaigns. The holiday, originally called Decoration Day, is traditionally marked by parades, speeches, ceremonies and the decoration of graves with flowers and flags, hence the original name. Memorial Day...Read More

Few lawmakers worked as hard as Del. James E. Proctor Jr. to pass the BOAST business tax credit benefitting students and teachers in public and nonpublic schools.Read More

VATICAN CITY - At the five-year mark, two key objectives of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate have come into clear focus: creating space for religion in the public sphere and space for God in private lives.Read More

BEIJING – The Chinese bishop who served in Beijing for more than 25 years was given a funeral for a state leader. A three-part funeral was held April 27 at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery for Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, 76, who died of lung cancer April 20. The cemetery is the main burial ground for revolutionary...Read More