WASHINGTON – Bishop John M. Smith of Trenton, N.J., said Dec. 14 he was pleased New Jersey legislators voted to abolish the death penalty, but said he would not have a “triumphalist attitude about it” because capital punishment is such a sensitive issue.Read More

When scientists meet in Baltimore for the second World Stem Cell Summit, among issues they will discuss are ethical questions involved in stem cell research.Read More

At the end of Archbishop O’Brien’s column (CR, Sept. 3) was a quote from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stating their vision of health care reform “will take care to be abortion neutral.” There is no neutral. Current case law states that unless a law expressly forbids funding abortion, the presumption is that abortions...Read More

Diane, single, eight weeks pregnant and a junior in college was concerned that having a baby would change her life.Read More

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Following years of persecution and not being able to attend Mass because of the threat of terrorism, Huzni Hermez and his family left their war-torn homeland of Iraq and found a place where they could freely practice their Catholic faith.Read More

LONDON – A prayer for couples to recite “before making love” has been included in a new British book of prayers for married couples.Read More

There was little Father Joseph Cosgrove could do to escape.Read More

VATICAN CITY – It’s difficult to select a single summarizing line in Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Spe Salvi” (on Christian hope), but a fundamental point is found in its first few pages.Read More