By John Stegeman His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI is still fairly new to Twitter, but the pontiff has already set a record, beating out pop superstar Justin Bieber in re-tweets. Reuters reports that while the Pope still trails Bieber in followers (the Holy Father has 2.1 million followers to Bieber’s

Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After 20 children and six adults were shot dead in Connecticut, Pope Benedict XVI offered his condolences and prayers, urging all to dedicate themselves to acts of peace in the face of such “senseless violence.” After reciting the Angelus Dec. 17, the pope,

By Catholic News Service RALEIGH, N.C. (CNS) — The Catholic bishops of North Carolina said they were “deeply saddened” that a federal judge ruled the state cannot issue “Choose Life” license plates without offering a choice of plates with a different viewpoint. U.S. District Court Judge James C. Fox ruled

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — For the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., 2012 brought glimmers of hope that there might soon be a way to clear up their unsettled legal status. After nearly two decades of stymied efforts to fix what is widely

By Simon Caldwell Catholic News Service MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — Catholic bishops in England and Wales said they strongly oppose a bill to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark — the president and vice-president of the Bishops’ Conference of

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI launched his very own Twitter account, sending a short inaugural message to his more than 1 million followers. “Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response.

Catholic News Service WASHINGTON ( — The Supreme Court will take up in the spring two cases over the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. In orders issued Dec. 7, the court agreed to hear a case over California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, and one out of New York over

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican praised a United Nations vote making Palestine a non-member observer state but called for full recognition of Palestinian sovereignty as necessary for peace in the region. One hundred thirty-eight member states voted Nov. 29 to boost Palestine’s status

By Catholic News Service MADRID (CNS) — Spain’s Catholic bishops urged political parties to unite against same-sex marriage, after it was confirmed as legal by the Constitutional Court. “Spanish legislation on marriage is gravely unjust — it does not protect the parties’ right to be recognized in law as husband

By Simon Caldwell Catholic News Service MANCHESTER, England (CNS) — The British government has opened an independent inquiry into allegations that an end-of-life protocol is operating as a euthanasia pathway. It said the inquiry would investigate complaints raised by families who say that relatives have died after they were placed,