WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom heard testimony July 25 from witnesses regarding the persecution of the ancient, non-Muslim minority religions in Iraq. The witnesses mentioned their personal experiences as religious minorities as well as their professional experience working in Iraq.Read More

PORTLAND, Ore. – Gary Ascher has a good life. Amiable and bright, he’s in a long-lasting marriage. His children are high-achieving. He holds down a steady job making patterns for cast metal machinery.Read More

WASHINGTON – As the Catholic Church observed National Migration Week Jan. 3-9, support for legislative efforts took the forefront amid various other steps to bring attention to the concerns of migrants and refugees.Read More

BOGOTA, Colombia – African Catholic leaders discussed the church’s different roles in some of the world’s most intractable and violent conflicts during a recent Catholic peace conference in Colombia. Across Africa, where Catholics and Christians are minorities in most nations, the Catholic Church’s role is different and difficult, said some of the leaders.Read More

VATICAN CITY – Seven weeks after Pope Benedict XVI praised Vatican civil servants for their work in “our little state, from the most visible to the most hidden,” the state unveiled its own Web site.Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Just two years after he blessed Our Lady of Guadalupe Church as a mission of St. Edward Parish, Nashville Bishop David R. Choby dedicated it as the first independent Hispanic parish in Tennessee.Read More

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican will decide how to proceed with the young woman responsible for knocking down Pope Benedict XVI during Christmas Eve Mass only after it reviews medical and Vatican security reports, said Vatican spokesmen.Read More

WASHINGTON – Lady Bird Johnson, an Episcopalian, died just after a Catholic priest finished reciting the litany of the saints with her family at her bedside in Austin, Texas.Read More