Oldie-But-Goodie Agenda To Propel Democrats In 2014

Offering the unemployment insurance extension and the minimum wage increase represents a low-risk platform for Democrats.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

After a particularly trying 2013 -- in which the Democrats took a beating regarding the rollout of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and a litany of White House scandals, including revelations of widespread potential domestic and international spying by the National Security Agency -- the Democrats seek to strike a populist tone

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Catholic Students Rally To Save Gay Vice Principal’s Job

Although the Archdiocese of Seattle and the high school praise Mark Zmuda’s performance, they forced him to resign after learning of his same-sex marriage.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

The cafeteria at Eastside Catholic High School in Washington state was filled with hundreds of students last week, as the student body came together to publicly vocalize their disapproval for what they referred to as the forced resignation of the school’s vice principal, Mark Zmuda, after rumors began to circulate he married his same-sex partner in

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A Liberal Pope Confronts Conservative Pharisees

Francis’ comments on culture-war issues of abortion, contraception and homosexuality have made many conservative leaders noticeably uncomfortable.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

The Lord works in mysterious ways. And it seems that for many of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics the ascent of Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the chair of St. Peter is something of a godsend – a liberal Pope. Although the jury is still out on Pope Francis as to just how reform-minded he is, a series of whirlwind statements by him on a variety of social

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2 Popes Reach Out To Atheists In Apparent Campaign

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged inside the Vatican walls to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy’s most well-known atheists.

VATICAN CITY  — Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican walls to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy's most well-known atheists. In it, he defends his record on handling sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to theology to the figure of Jesus Christ. Excerpts of the

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Dominican Cardinal: Vatican Will Probe Ex-Envoy

It is believed to be the first known sex abuse investigation against a high-ranking Vatican official in recent times.

The Dominican Republic's Catholic archbishop has confirmed that the Vatican will investigate the country's recently removed papal envoy over allegations of child sex abuse. Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez told reporters late Tuesday that Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski will be investigated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the

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The New Pope Is Taking On The Vatican’s Traditionalists

…When he’s not being crushed by the Church’s bureaucracy, that is.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

On June 22, a gala classical concert -- planned prior to the papal elections -- was held at the Vatican for an audience of cardinals and Italian dignitaries. The guest of honor was supposed to be the newly elected bishop of Rome -- the austere former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina -- who decided to take on the vestige of St.

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