Sundays must be a day of rest dedicated to God, family, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The demands of work can't bully people out of needed time off, Pope Benedict XVI said. Sunday must be a day...

Cardinal Quezada, mediator to end Guatemala’s civil war, dies at 80

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Retired Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruno of Guatemala City, credited with helping to end his country's civil war in the 1990s,...

Papal butler could face six years in Italian prison if found guilty

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Paolo Gabriele, the papal assistant, has been accused of aggravated theft, a crime that under Vatican laws is punishable with...

Nigerian cardinal urges crash victims’ families to find strength in God

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) -- Cardinal Anthony Okogie of Lagos consoled the families of the victims of the crashed Dana Air plane and urged them...

HHS mandate latest in line of religious crises

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation that would force employers, including Catholic institutions, to pay, directly or indirectly, for insurance...

Approaches to religious liberty have developed over time

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” are the first words of the Bill of...

Federal court overturns Defense of Marriage Act; appeal presumed

BOSTON (CNS) -- With a ruling that acknowledged the final decision will be up to the Supreme Court, a federal appeals court declared the...

Vatican newspaper’s glossy new insert puts focus on women

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, has launched a monthly insert dedicated to women, aiming to bring greater attention to their...

Cristero martyr now popular patron of Mexican migrants headed to US

SANTA ANA DE GUADALUPE, Mexico (CNS) -- The road signs leading to this hamlet of 292 souls in the dry highlands northeast of Guadalajara...

First Amendment, not about Pill, but Bill of Rights

That’s the view of two legal scholars on religious liberty issues as they observe what they see as an orchestrated campaign against the First...