WARSAW, Poland – Many Eastern European church officials said they lack procedures for handling claims of clergy collaborating with communist secret police nearly 20 year after the collapse of communism. Father Laszlo Nemeth, secretary-general of the Hungarian bishops’ conference, told Catholic News Service that although Hungarian bishops had debated the issue in the early 1990s...Read More

VATICAN CITY – The death of an Italian muscular dystrophy patient who had his respirator disconnected is fueling a complex and significant discussion among top church officials. Piergiorgio Welby, who was paralyzed and kept alive by a breathing machine for nine years, pleaded for months for the device to be turned off. He said medical...Read More

ST. LOUIS – The new Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America launched by Catholic Charities USA is getting support from the public policy agency of the Missouri bishops and from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s national council. “Any way Catholic Charities and others can bring their direct experience of working with the poor...Read More

When Marie Beck first started volunteering at Our Lady of Fatima School in Baltimore 16 years ago, her grandson always called her “grandmom” when he saw her on campus. Before long, other students began addressing Ms. Beck as their “grandmom,” too. The name stuck and that’s how Ms. Beck is now known by everyone from...Read More