News & Commentary

The caskets of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, lie in state June 27, 2025, at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul.

Slain Minnesota lawmaker, husband remembered for lives lived ‘with purpose, meaning’

Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were shot dead in their home June 14, were remembered at their funeral Mass June 28 for living their lives "with purpose and meaning."
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Advocate: S. Carolina approval of firing squad, electric chair ‘chilling’

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The passage of a bill by South Carolina lawmakers in early May to restart executions after 10 years and to add death by firing squad or electric chair as options if lethal injection drugs are not available ...
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Coroner rules 1971 massacre victims in Belfast were ‘entirely innocent’

A coroner in Northern Ireland ruled that a priest and nine lay Catholics who were shot dead by British troops almost 50 years ago were "entirely innocent" and their deaths were unjustified.
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Cardinal cautions US bishops on politicians and Communion

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has urged the U.S. bishops to proceed with caution in their discussions about formulating a national policy "to address the situation of Catholics in public office who support legislation allowing abortion, euthanasia ...
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Women religious speak out against voter suppression

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the National Black Sisters Conference issued a joint statement May 5 on the importance of ensuring that all people enjoy the right to vote "regardless of their race, zip code, economic status or ...
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San Diego bishop: Don’t weaponize the Eucharist for political ends

"The Eucharist must never be instrumentalized for a political end, no matter how important," said Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego in a May 5 essay published on the website of America magazine, the Jesuit journal.
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Children separated under Trump policy to be reunited with families

At the 51st annual Washington Conference on the Americas, May 4, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said four migrant families who remained separated under a Trump administration policy would be among the first to be reunited in ...
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