RADNOR, Pa. – After 30 years of war and repressive rule of the Taliban, today only 28 percent of the people in Afghanistan can read and write and 18 percent of them are women and girls, according to Catholic Relief Services representatives visiting the Philadelphia Archdiocese.Read More

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The violence that shook Jamaica’s capital in late May stems from a combination of economic woes, drugs, corruption and the country’s history of power politics, said church leaders.Read More

WASHINGTON – April 17, 2008, the day Pope Benedict XVI visited the Catholic University of America, was “probably the greatest day of my life,” said Vincentian Father David O’Connell, who will step down Aug. 31 as president after leading the university for the past 12 years.Read More

WASHINGTON – A letter from the chairmen of three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated the bishops’ opposition to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because of the bill’s potential to “jeopardize our religious freedom to live our faith and moral tenets in today’s society.”Read More

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court expanded restrictions on sentences for crimes committed by juveniles, ruling 6-3 May 24 that they must have a possibility of being released when imprisoned for crimes other than murder.Read More

OTTAWA, Ontario – Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet vowed not to be silenced on the “crime” of abortion and answered his critics by demanding that the federal government assist pregnant women.Read More

The family of Yeardley Love, who died May 3 at the University of Virginia, has established a memorial fund at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson.Read More

The death of a child can be the most painful aspect of parenthood.Read More