Catholic News

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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks on the U.S. opioid crisis at the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 23, 2025. / Credit: SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 23, 2025 / 17:26 pm (CNA).The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) hosted the inaugural meeting this week of a new task force to counter anti-Christian bias in federal government policies, regulations, and practices."Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism," Attorney General Pam Bondi said ahead of the meeting. "It's upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise [in the First Amendment]."The task force's first meeting on Tuesday was closed to the public and the media but included the heads of multiple federal departments and agencies along with witnesses who provided testimony on anti-Christian bias within the federal government.President Donald Trump formally established the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias on Feb. 6 by e...

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Assets sold to help pay a massive clergy sex abuse settlement in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York, include the diocese's former headquarters, pictured here, in downtown Buffalo. / Credit: Warren LeMay/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0CNA Staff, Apr 23, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, will pay out a massive $150 million sum as part of a settlement with victims of clergy sexual abuse there. The diocese said in a press release that the diocese itself, along with parishes and affiliates, would provide the payment "to survivors of sexual abuse for acts perpetrated against them by clergy, religious, lay employees, and volunteers." The settlement amount was still set to be voted on by abuse victims and approved by U.S. bankruptcy court, but the proposal has been accepted by the committee of abuse survivors in the suit, the diocese said. The settlement "represents an essential milestone on this protracted and arduous journey, and importantly, enables us to fina...

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German bishops gather in Rome on Nov. 17, 2022. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNACNA Staff, Apr 23, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).The German Catholic bishops have published a handout that offers guidance to pastors on blessings for couples in "irregular" situations such as same-sex relationships, urging clergy to use the blessings to "express appreciation" for individuals seeking the recognition from Catholic priests. The handout, "Blessings for Couples Who Love Each Other," was distributed earlier this month by the joint conference of members of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK).The guidance cites Fiducia Supplicans, the Vatican document published in 2023 that was approved by Pope Francis. The German document allows for "blessings" of homosexual couples and other extramarital arrangements. It was first reported on by CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner. "Non-church married couples, divorced and remarried couples, a...