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Official Catholic Directory statistics show Catholics still 22 percent of U.S. population

WASHINGTON - Data in the 2009 Official Catholic Directory, also known as the Kenedy Directory, show there are 68,115,001 Catholics in the United States, making up 22 percent of the U.S. population. The total number of Catholics is an increase of about one million from the previous year.The directory is based on information collected from dioceses a...

National Vocation Awareness Week to be celebrated January 10-16

WASHINGTON - The Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week, January 10-16.          "This week provides the opportunity for parishes across the country to promote vocations through prayer and education," said Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, chairman of the Bis...

Migration week brings legislative push, prayers, a walk to Washington

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.In a teleconference Jan. 6, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Migration, described several...

Bishops express sorrow at death of Iraqi Archbishop

WASHINGTON - (USCCB) - Cardinal Francis George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), expressed ?profound shock and sorrow? on behalf of the U.S. bishops following the death of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho at the hands of his kidnappers earlier today (March 13). The body of Archbishop Rahho, who was kidnapped last ...

Roe v. Wade 'will not stand,' cardinal says at pro-life vigil Mass

WASHINGTON (CNS) - Roe v. Wade, the 35-year-old Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion virtually on demand, "will not stand," Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia said in his homily at a Jan. 21 evening Mass that opened the annual National Prayer Vigil for Life."Roe v. Wade is incompatible with human dignity," said Cardinal Rigali, chairm...

Catholic Bishops of Ohio voice dismay over state budget cuts in human services, Catholic hospitals and Catholic schools

The Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati, speaking on behalf of Ohio's Catholic Bishops, issued a letter voicing dismay with specific cuts in the state budget, and disappointment with a political process that disregarded the concerns of many members of the General Assembly.Read the complete "Catholic Conference of Ohio" news ...

Executive order on Embryonic Stem Cell's 'A sad victory of politics over science and ethics,' says Cardinal Rigali

WASHINGTON - Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, today called President Obama's executive order on embryonic stem cell research "a sad victory of politics over science and ethics." Under the order, for the first time in U.S. history, federal tax dollars will be used to encou...