2016-09-30T17:35:42-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

Really? Strange as it sounds, yes: Catholic nuns take a vow of chastity, so you might not think that any sister would need to be on birth control. But oral contraceptive pills have other uses besides preventing pregnancy; in fact, Catholic bioethicists say there is no inherent conflict in nuns (or any other Catholic) taking these very same substances for prescribed, therapeutic reasons, such as for treating heavy menstrual bleeding or endometriosis. A new article in the journal The Lancet... Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:42-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

Leave it to T-Mobile to kick-start the season with another splashy production number in a public space — this one, a shopping mall outside Chicago. Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:42-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

Details: In a surprise move, the nation’s health secretary stopped the Plan B morning-after pill from moving onto drugstore shelves next to the condoms, deciding Wednesday that young girls shouldn’t be able to buy it on their own. The Food and Drug Administration was preparing to lift a controversial age limit and make Plan B One-Step the nation’s first over-the-counter emergency contraceptive, available for purchase by people of any age without a prescription. But Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius intervened at the... Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:43-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

One of the most familiar faces on television has gone to the great dressing room in the sky: Harry Morgan, the prolific character actor best known for playing the acerbic but kindly Colonel Potter in the long-running television series “M*A*S*H,” died Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96. His son Charles confirmed his death, saying Mr. Morgan had been treated for pneumonia recently. In more than 100 movies, Mr. Morgan played Western bad guys, characters with... Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:43-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

They’re back: Nearly $40,000 was spent during the last Christmas season on a billboard war between atheists and Roman Catholics at the New Jersey entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. But so far, this year’s version of the atheist billboard has failed to generate much of a fight. The American Atheists’ new orange and black billboard, just to the left of the Lincoln Tunnel entrance on the New Jersey side, depicts four images side by side: a statue of the Roman god... Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:43-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

Remember the good old days before Vatican II, when people took sacraments seriously and priests treated the liturgy with reverence? Behold, a Catholic wedding in France from 60 years ago.   Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:43-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

And he’ll be confirming several U.S. soldiers while he’s there, too. Details: Catholic Bishop F. Richard Spencer, who serves as Episcopal Vicar for Europe and Asia of the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) of the U.S. military, arrived on December 5 in northern Afghanistan, where he will spend Advent and the Christmas holidays ministering to United States and multinational NATO troops as well as U.S. State Department staffers.  During his pastoral visit, Bishop Spencer will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for six U.S. soldiers... Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:43-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

Details: A nun who dedicated her life to caring for exiled leprosy patients is a step closer to sainthood after the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints recommended her canonization on Tuesday. The recommendation to the pope confirmed previous rulings that a second miracle was due to Blessed Marianne Cope’s intercession. In 1888, Cope succeeded Father Damien in caring for leprosy patients banished to the Kalaupapa settlement on Molokai. Mother Marianne died of natural causes in 1918 and was... Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:43-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

Trouble is taking root, and spreading: Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee unwrapped a Christmas conundrum when he erected a “holiday” tree in the Statehouse, incensing the Roman Catholic Church, many residents and even the tree farmer who donated the 17-foot-tall spruce. The holiday hubbub comes to a head Tuesday evening when Chafee presides over a tree-lighting celebration at the Statehouse. The event will feature Santa Claus, a gingerbread house, examples of “holiday” trees from around the world and a specially... Read more

2016-09-30T17:35:43-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:35 pm   By

The mind boggles: The federal government is grappling with the explosive question of whether to let anyone of any age buy the controversial morning-after pill Plan B directly off drugstore and supermarket shelves without a prescription. The Food and Drug Administration has until Wednesday to respond to a request from the drug’s manufacturer to make the pill as easy to get as toilet paper and toothpaste, a move pushed by some doctors, health advocates, family-planning activists, members of Congress and... Read more

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