Pope Francis may soon release his greatly anticipated response to a key bishops’ meeting on family issues that took place last fall. At that meeting, bishops discussed the church’s response to a host of issues, including some that are very controversial. The bishops were especially divided over whether the church should change its rules against communion for divorced Catholics who have remarried. Many American Catholics have been pushing for that change and others. More →

March 11, 2016

The Supreme Court on Tuesday hears arguments in a deeply divisive case: What limits should there be, if any, on owners of corporations claiming a religious exemption from federal law? More →

March 21, 2014

Liberal Catholics who were hopeful that Pope Francis’s papacy would usher in sweeping reforms are discovering that the Church “is an institution that takes its time with major decisions, and none of this is going to happen soon.”  More →

November 1, 2013

The co-chair of Catholics for Obama explains how he believes Catholics can reconcile supporting President Obama despite his abortion position and his administration’s policy directing employers to provide free contraceptive services. More →

September 7, 2012

Watch more of managing editor Kim Lawton’s interviews with former US Ambassador to the Vatican and co-chair of Catholics for Romney Jim Nicholson, and Maureen Ferguson, senior policy advisor with the Catholic Association. More →

September 4, 2012

Individual liberty versus the common good and the ongoing need for comprehensive immigration reform were among the issues religious groups continued to debate as the High Court’s current term came to a close More →

June 29, 2012

A national debate is underway over the First Amendment, federal law, and whether “reasonable minds can disagree” about what religious freedom means. Watch excerpts from some recent interviews. More →

June 15, 2012

Catholic groups filed lawsuits in federal courts on May 21 to stop the Obama administration from implementing a mandate that would require them to cover contraceptives in their health plans. More →

May 25, 2012

“Rick Santorum is a very particular kind of Catholic…A lot of Catholics don’t see themselves in him, and a lot of people actually don’t even know that he’s Catholic. Most people assume he’s an evangelical,” says Religion News Service editor in chief Kevin Eckstrom.
know that he’s Catholic. Most people assume he’s an evangelical.” More →

March 9, 2012

Trying to balance issues of public health and religious liberty, the Obama administration announced a plan to calm anger over a new rule that would require health insurance plans, including those offered by Roman Catholic hospitals, universities, and charities, to provide free birth control to female employees. Instead, insurance companies rather than religious institutions will be required to offer contraceptive coverage at no cost. More →

February 10, 2012