Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to speak with Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., Bishop Robert Finn, who told me that he and Kansas City, Kan., Archbishop Joseph Naumann were releasing a pastoral letter on health-care reform.

That pastoral letter was released today, and it can be read in its entirety at the The Catholic Key blog. It’s encouraging to see that a rising number of U.S. bishops are speaking publicly, and pastorally, about all that’s right, and all that’s wrong, in the current bill before Congress. It’s the first pastoral letter from U.S. bishops addressing health-care reform.

Their pastoral letter calls not only for the exclusion of “abortion services” from the health-care...READ MORE

Over the weekend, 530 Serra Club members from 12 different countries gathered at their annual international conference in Omaha, Neb. “No one offers more support and encouragement for vocations than Serra,” said the host, Omaha Archbishop George Lucas.

Among the attendees was New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan. Archbishop Dolan told Serrans that vocations can be promoted by the laity in four distinct ways.

The first, said Archbishop Dolan, is by emphasizing the vocation of marriage and family. Citing data from a Pew Research Center study, Archbishop Dolan stated that only about 50% of Catholic young people are approaching the sacrament of marriage.

“Taking care of the first crisis...READ MORE

The fall-out continues from last Friday’s vote by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to allow homosexual clergy.

Not surprisingly, the reaction echoes that witnessed when the Anglican Church ordained its first homosexual bishop. A schism, within the Anglican Church in the U.S. and abroad, took place.

Immediately following the ELCA’s decision, Lutheran leaders from both Asia and Africa denounced the decision, showing that those very places where the church is experiencing growth are also those places where the faithful are trying to hold onto the church’s traditional teachings.

Here in the U.S., parishes have responded as well. St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Charleston, WV...READ MORE

The successful Roswell, Ga.-based apostolate Catholics Come Home has utilized its award-winning television ads and website with several dioceses around the country since 2008. According to the organization, the campaign has been responsible for bringing nearly 100,000 inactive Catholics and converts home to the Church during Lent 2008.

Parishes in the Diocese of Phoenix reported a 12% increase in weekly Mass attendance during and after the campaign. The Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, witnessed a 17.7% increase.

Following the lead of so many other dioceses, the Diocese of Sacramento has announced that it will be launching a Catholics Come Home advertising campaign this coming December...READ MORE

What would Martin Luther say?

In a move to further liberalize the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), delegates meeting in Minneapolis yesterday rejected the opposition’s proposal to require a two-thirds supermajority rather than a simple majority when the measure to allow homosexual clergy is voted for on Friday.

In addition to voting on whether to allow practicing homosexual clergy members, the ELCA is also considering a broader statement on human sexuality. Just such a statement in the 1990s, on abortion, led many of the church’s pastors to leave the ELCA and led others to convert to Catholicism.

In 2003, the Episcopal Church consecrated its first openly homosexual bishop,...READ MORE

For those who haven’t followed it, there’s a battle shaping up over religious liberty at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C.

At issue is the college’s ability to refuse to provide contraceptive coverage in its health insurance plan. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Charlotte, N.C., ruled that Belmont Abbey discriminated against female employees by refusing to cover prescription contraceptives.

Originally, eight faculty members filed a complaint against the college in 2007, claiming that the exclusion was discriminatory against women.

“By denying prescription contraceptive drugs, [the college] is discriminating based on gender because only females take oral prescription...READ MORE

When I saw Newt Gingrich in the audience at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington during Pope Benedict XVI’s U.S. visit, I asked myself, “Newt isn’t Catholic is he? Is he here because he’s interested in what the Pope has to say, or is he considering coming into the Church?” I discreetly snapped a photo.

My question was answered earlier this year, when it was announced that he was coming into the Church. I’ve tried repeatedly to obtain an interview with former Speaker of the House Gingrich on the subject, but his press spokesperson says that he doesn’t want to discuss it.

Apparently, though, he’s discussed it with Time magazine’s Amy Sullivan. So,...READ MORE

We’ve written about this both during and after Sydney’s World Youth Day, but Sunday’s Daily Telegraph reports that Sydney’s seminaries have three times as many seminarians as there were in 2000.

For the first time in 10 years, 60 men are currently studying for the priesthood. Eighty percent of the men are under the age of 30. The youngest is 19. The majority are in their early or mid-20s.

Some have cited World Youth Day’s role.

“There is definitely a renewed interest in the Church and the priesthood,” said Father Anthony Percy, rector of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, one of two seminaries in Sydney.

“We had the ordination of four priests a few months ago — that hasn’t happened...READ MORE