IMAGE: CNS photo/Andrew Kelly, Reuters By WASHINGTON (CNS) — The chairmen of three U.S. bishops’ committees Jan. 31 expressed solidarity with the Muslim community and expressed deep concern over religious freedom issues they said President Donald Trump’s refugee ban raises. Trump’s executive memorandum of Jan. 27 “has generated fear and …

By AUGUSTA, Ga. (CNS) — Saying “justice needs to be tamed by mercy,” Bishop Felipe J. Estevez of St. Augustine, Florida, and two brother bishops called Jan. 31 for the state of Georgia to drop the death penalty in the case of accused priest killer Steven J. Murray. “We have …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christian hope isn’t about believing in something that may or may not come true, like hoping tomorrow’s weather will be pleasant, Pope Francis said. “Christian hope is the expectation of something that already has been fulfilled and that certainly will …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Michael Reynolds, EPA By WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court that has been empty since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last February. Gorsuch is a man the country needs, Trump said in announcing his …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Bruce Gilbert, Fordham By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic college leaders were encouraged Jan. 29 to take steps to heal racial divides on their campuses during an annual meeting in Washington. Father Bryan Massingale, a theology professor at Fordham University in New York and author of “Racial …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Dario Ayala, Reuters By Philippe Vaillancourt QUEBEC CITY — Faith and political leaders condemned a shooting at Quebec’s main mosque that left at least six people dead. Vigils were scheduled Jan. 30 in Quebec City and Montreal, the evening after a man entered the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Yuri Gripas, Reuters By Kurt Jensen and Julie Asher WASHINGTON (CNS) — The leaders of the pro-life movement are used to having the ear of the president, as they had with Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. During their respective administrations, they addressed the March …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jamal Nasrallah, EPA By Dale Gavlak AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) — Promised resettlement in the United States after escaping death and destruction in their homeland, many Syrian refugees are frustrated and angry over President Donald Trump’s executive action banning their entry to the U.S. until further notice. “We’re frustrated. …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Laura Beckman, Reuters By WASHINGTON (CNS) — President Donald Trump’s executive memorandum intended to restrict the entry of terrorists coming to the United States brought an outcry from Catholic leaders across the U.S. Church leaders used phrases such as “devastating,” “chaotic” and “cruel” to describe the Jan. 27 …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Jeffrey By Paul Jeffrey MOSUL, Iraq (CNS) — As some residents of the city of Mosul celebrate their new freedom from the Islamic State group, an Iraqi Christian leader who visited the war-torn city said Christian residents are unlikely to return. “I don’t see a future for …