Roman Catholic Church News

WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that the White House is working to address concerns raised by the Catholic Church over a new rule on contraceptives and that he thinks an escalating election-year battle over the issue can be resolved.

Bridgeport Bishop William Lori, right, is one of the most vocal opponents of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' decision to require religious groups to cover contraception in employee health-care plans.

Republicans looking to take back the White House in November face a challenging political environment, a trio of conservative political observers said Thursday at an annual gathering of conservative activists.

Catholic services across the country Sunday-with Maryland being no exception-included admonitions against the Obama administration's requirement that church-affiliated facilities offer birth control coverage in their employee health plans.

Politico has a rather odd post today, claiming that the Obama administration's decision to adopt a very popular health care policy is somehow alienating "high-profile Catholic Democrats." And whom does Politico cite as evidence? At this point, the Democratic defectors are few in number but tall in stature.

Timothy Dolan, a senior U.S. Roman Catholic leader, said on Thursday President Barack Obama "gave me promises" during a White House meeting in November as Dolan pressed the Church's criticism of a new Obama administration rule requiring health insurance plans to cover birth control.

A top Asian church official told a Vatican-backed conference on fighting priestly sex abuse Thursday that a culture of silence prevalent on the continent has kept many victims from coming forward, as concerns rise that Asia may be the next ground zero in the abuse scandal.

A psychiatrist hired by the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford has testified he disputes that the mental health problems of an alleged clergy sex abuse victim were caused by the abuse, and that the victim had a generally "positive" relationship with the priest.

Hiding behind a culture of "omerta" -- the Italian word for the Mafia's code of silence -- would be deadly for the Catholic Church, the Vatican's top official for dealing with sexual abuse of minors by clergy said Wednesday.

Republicans vowed Wednesday to reverse President Barack Obama's new policy on birth control, lambasting the rule that religious schools and hospitals must provide contraceptive coverage for their employees as an "unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country."The White House pushed back in the face of a political firestorm, arguing that ... (more)

A Roman Catholic church official wants a judge to step down from his child-endangerment case after she called the church's sex-abuse crisis "widespread." "Anybody that doesn't think there is widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is living on another planet," Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said at a Jan.

The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI receives many invitations and that a trip to Lebanon is under consideration but that there are no plans for a visit to Iran.

Priests who rape and molest children lie when confronted with an accusation but victims usually tell the truth, psychologists told Catholic bishops at a symposium Tuesday, advising them to listen first to the victims.

As White House advisers indicated they could potentially seek a compromise on the rule requiring many Catholic institutions to offer birth control and other contraception services as part of employees' health care coverage, Republicans on Capitol Hill Tuesday laid into the president.

The battle over a new White House policy compelling Catholic institutions to cover contraception in health insurance plans continued to escalate Tuesday, with the Catholic Church threatening to sue, liberal groups spotlighting Catholic support for contraception, and the Obama administration vowing to confront religious concerns.

A group representing victims of clergy abuse is asking the Milwaukee Catholic archdiocese to withdraw motions to dismiss some of the nearly 570 restitution claims in its bankruptcy case.

A political firestorm over abortion and birth control spread suddenly to multiple fronts on Tuesday.

Officials say a drug gang has unfurled banners in a central Mexican city that Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit next month.

Newt Gingrich thrust the reproductive rights issue into the GOP campaign spotlight on Tuesday, criticizing both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama's records on requiring Catholic organizations to provide contraceptive aids in some circumstances.

A political adviser to President Barack Obama said Tuesday the administration didn't intend to "abridge anyone's religious freedom" with its regulation requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control for their workers.