VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI has instituted a new agency to monitor all Vatican financial operations and make sure they meet international norms against money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.Read More

Seeing the anniversary date of the death of the former Archbishop of Baltimore, Francis Patrick Keough (Dec. 8, 1961), I prayed for his dear soul. While still a child, I met the archbishop’s mother, and then many years later, met the Archbishop upon his arrival in Baltimore. Both were happy memories. My grandmother, Mary Griffin,...Read More

ROCKVILLE – The sounds of joyful singing fill the first floor of the suburban Washington home of Irma and Celia Nissen.Read More

WASHINGTON – Sally Quinn, a Washington Post journalist who founded and moderates “On Faith,” a Post website on religion, said she learned years ago that in Washington social circles, people don’t discuss religion. They are “stealth religious.”Read More

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The atmosphere had the feeling of a high-five at Bethlehem Catholic High School as Bishop John O. Barres of Allentown was on hand to shoot a promotional DVD for the upcoming Knights of Columbus’ International Free Throw Championship.Read More

WASHINGTON – In actions to fight state efforts to legalize same-sex marriage during 2010, the U.S. bishops reiterated the church’s teaching on the sanctity of marriage, made their Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage a permanent subcommittee and distributed materials explaining the Catholic view of traditional marriage.Read More

Helen Nale is convinced she’s been to heaven and back.Read More

VATICAN CITY – New revelations about clerical sex abuse cases, particularly in Europe, led Pope Benedict XVI and his top aides in 2010 to look for ways to refine policies for handling accusations and strengthening child protection programs.Read More