Carol Zimmermann

During the second day of their annual fall assembly in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops discussed, even though they weren't voting on, procedures they could use to restrict bishops removed from their position or reassigned due to sexual abuse allegations or "grave negligence in office."

The latest death penalty case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court was not about if a death-row prisoner should be executed, but how. And the newest member of the court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, could be the deciding vote on the outcome.

The Supreme Court announced Nov. 2 that it would hear oral arguments this term to consider if a 40-foot cross in Maryland endorses religion or is simply a secular memorial.

The Boston Globe and the Philadelphia Inquirer newspapers teamed up for an article published in both daily papers Nov. 4 that examined ways it said the U.S. bishops have failed to police themselves even since their 2002 gathering in Dallas.

The U.S. Supreme Court, no stranger to death penalty cases, is looking very narrowly at two aspects of capital punishment this term.

In response to the church abuse crisis, many parishes around the country have been bringing out the big guns in a spiritual sense — calling on St. Michael the Archangel to help the church.

After the weeks of intense drama focused on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the nation's highest court was ready to get back to business, full bench or not.

The four days of Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were as heated as the unusually high temperatures in Washington during this first week of September.

While bishops have issued statements of remorse for sex abuse in the church, one author and seminary theology professor says what has been missing from these statements is an acknowledgment by the body of bishops of wrongdoing.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced June 27, the last day of the Supreme Court's current term, that he is retiring July 31.

In a 7-2 decision June 4, the Supreme Court sided with a Colorado baker in a case that put anti-discrimination laws up against freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression.

As the Supreme Court prepares to wrap up its current term by the end of June, Catholic Church leaders are paying particular attention to several of the 30 upcoming decisions.

The Supreme Court's decision May 29 not to hear a case against an Arkansas abortion law, thus letting the state's restrictions on abortion-inducing drugs stand, will have broad impact.

A group of current Washington Trinity University graduates are proud of what they've accomplished but also very anxious about the future.

Bishop Shelton Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, the new chair of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, looks forward to helping Catholic church leaders respond to the "sin" of racism.

At the White House Rose Garden May 3, President Donald Trump announced, and then signed, an executive order giving faith-based groups a stronger voice in the federal government.

In the last case before the U.S. Supreme Court this session, it seemed the majority of justices might uphold President Donald Trump's travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries.

Catholic Church leaders and immigration advocates say President Donald Trump's recent moves to clamp down on immigration are extreme and unnecessary.

In oral arguments before the Supreme Court March 20, justices seemed skeptical about a California law that requires pro-life pregnancy centers in the state to visibly display information about abortions to their clients that the centers say violates their right to free speech.

Students in schools across the country have to navigate their way around classes, exams, relationships, cliques, cafeteria food and crowded hallways.