Father Augustus Tolton, the first African-American priest, took a step closer to sainthood this week when Chicago Cardinal Francis George announced that the priest’s sainthood cause has been introduced in the Archdiocese of Chicago. According to an archdiocesan press release, the cardinal will appoint a historical commission to assemble the facts about Father Tolton’s heroic virtues. Some time...Read More

WASHINGTON – The U.S. bishops’ Office of General Counsel said the Obama administration’s decision to no longer support the Defense of Marriage Act in legal challenges ahead “represents an abdication” of its “constitutional obligation to ensure that laws of the United States are faithfully executed.”Read More

One of the underappreciated jobs for those of us in the news business is writing headlines. Sometimes it’s fun, as when we get to write clever little puns, such as “Love and Loyola go hand in hand,” over a story about Loyola University alums renewing their marriage vows; it accompanied a photo of couples holding...Read More

It seems that what’s now known as “traditional marriage” can’t get a break these days. At the same time Maryland is on the verge of legalizing same-sex marriage (see this story about how some local Catholics feel about that), the Obama administration announced today that it has instructed the Department of Justice to stop defending the Defense...Read More

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay has reinstated the collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development in his diocese and established a new diocesan commission that will be in charge of teaching about and implementing Catholic social teaching.Read More

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican released a three-day schedule of events for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, and warned against people selling counterfeit tickets to the beatification liturgy, which is free and open to all.Read More

On a 7-4 vote, the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee agreed to send a bill legalizing same-sex marriage to the Senate floor. The full chamber is expected to debate the measure the week of Feb. 21, with the Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) projecting a final vote to take place Feb. 28. In a written statement...Read More

(Getty Images) A model walks the runway at the Wayne Fall 2011 fashion week during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Milk Studios on February 10, 2011 in New York City. Those who care about such things are abuzz that a modern fashion trend seems to be taking cues from some of the world’s oldest forms of clothing...Read More