WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The recent announcement by scientists at Wake Forest and Harvard universities that the amniotic fluid surrounding a child in the womb can be the source of medically useful stem cells is just the latest in a series of studies showing the research value of the byproducts of live birth, according to the...Read More

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The fallout from the resignation of Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus continued, with revelations about his role as an informant for former secret police, warnings about new disclosures to come and the resignation of a leading churchman in Krakow, Poland. Pope Benedict XVI accepted Archbishop Wielgus’ resignation Jan. 7, just two days...Read More

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While he has said for years that terrorists were hiding out in Somalia, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Mogadishu said more U.S. airstrikes would only make things worse. Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, who also oversees the church in Somalia’s chaotic and violent capital, spoke to the Vatican’s Fides...Read More

What does the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex 20:13) mean for us today? In 1972 the supreme court opened the door to states to rewrite death penalty statutes to eliminate the problems cited in Furman v Georgia that is; punishment would be “cruel and unusual” if it was too severe for the crime, if...Read More

Standing next to toppled plastic figures of St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin Mary and assorted sheep, Loretta Hoffman shook her head sadly and pointed to an empty manger flipped on its side by vandals. “That’s where the baby Jesus was,” she said, noting that her husband, Gil, had secured the figure with wires to prevent...Read More

Praising the recommendation by a New Jersey panel to abolish the death penalty in favor of life imprisonment without parole in New Jersey, Richard J. Dowling, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, said it could serve as a “model” for Maryland. The New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission, created in 2005, submitted its findings...Read More

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The resignation of Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus of Warsaw has prompted embarrassment and disappointment in the Vatican, along with a sense of relief that Pope Benedict XVI did not allow the awkward drama to continue a single day longer. In an official statement, the Vatican praised the “humility” of Archbishop Wielgus,...Read More

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Rep. Nancy Rep. Pelosi’s ascent to the post of speaker of the House puts her in the spotlight for a variety of "firsts." She’s the first woman, the first Italian-American and the first Californian to hold the post. At a Jan. 3 Mass at Trinity University in Washington, Rep. Pelosi’s alma mater,...Read More