Gulf Coast slowly rebuilds five years after Hurricane Katrina
 | Five years after the devastating effects of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, rebuilding efforts are still very much a work in progress. Many, but not all, Gulf Coast residents have returned and although many homes and buildings have been rebuilt, more still needs to be done. Amid the ongoing recovery, many exasperated locals say they just want to move on, especially as the nation remembers the five-year anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, and Hurricane Rita, which made landfall in Texas and Louisiana Sept. 24. Tuesday, August 31, 2010 |
| Alaska plane crash victim, William "Bill" Phillips, remembered as man of faith | Hundreds of people attended a funeral Mass at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Potomac on Aug. 20 for William "Bill" Phillips Sr., 56, a lawyer and lobbyist at the D.C. law firm of Utrecht & Phillips and a convert to the Catholic faith. He died in a plane crash in Alaska that also killed former senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and three others on Aug. 9. Tuesday, August 24, 2010 |  | | Use of new Roman Missal to begin in United States at Advent 2011 |
Catholics in the United States will begin using the long-awaited English translation of the Roman Missal on the first Sunday of Advent in 2011, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago said Aug. 20. The cardinal's announcement as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops marks the formal beginning of a more than 15-month period of education and training leading to the first use of the "third typical edition" of the Roman Missal at English-language Masses in the United States on Nov. 27, 2011. Tuesday, August 24, 2010 |  | | Appeals court grants stay on same-sex marriages in California | The Aug. 16 decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent the state of California from conducting same-sex marriages while an appeal is under way drew cheers from same-sex marriage opponents. "California voters spoke clearly on Prop 8, and we're glad to see their votes will remain valid while the legal challenges work their way up through the courts," said an Aug. 16 statement by Andy Pugno, general counsel for protectmarriage.com. Friday, August 20, 2010 |  | | FDA approves drug its opponents say is known to cause abortion | The Food and Drug Administration's decision to approve a drug labeled as an emergency contraceptive is a "dangerous step toward erasing any meaningful distinction between contraception and abortion," said the U.S. bishops' pro-life spokeswoman. Deirdre A. McQuade, assistant director for policy and communications in the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, made the comment in reaction to an Aug. 13 announcement by the FDA that it had approved the drug ulipristal, which is being marketed under the brand name ellaOne or ella. Thursday, August 19, 2010 |  | | Church agencies step up relief work as Pakistan struggles with flood
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Church charities in Pakistan are gearing up for prolonged relief and rehabilitation work as the South Asian nation is faced with the worst flood in its history. Friday, August 13, 2010 |  | | One Benedictine nun killed, two seriously injured in Virginia accident | Two members of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia remained in critical condition Aug. 4 following an accident that killed another member of their religious community. A head-on collision Aug. 1 with a vehicle driven by an illegal immigrant who was allegedly drunk at the time left Sister Denise Mosier, 66, dead and Sisters Charlotte Lange, 75, and Connie Ruth Lupton, 70, seriously injured. Thursday, August 05, 2010 |  | | Bishops commend ruling stopping major parts of Arizona immigration law |
Arizona's Catholic bishops commended a July 28 ruling that blocked enforcement of the most controversial sections of the state's contentious immigration law a day before it takes effect. They also voiced a hope "that reaction to (the) ruling will be expressed only in peaceful and legal ways." Thursday, July 29, 2010 |  | | Two US bishops say Mass near Mexican border to pray for end to violence |
Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of El Paso and Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, New Mexico, celebrated Mass July 14 near the foot of a bridge that crosses the Rio Grande to pray for an end to violence on the U.S.-Mexico border. The Mass followed a procession by more than 300 El Pasoans - led by a group of American Indian dancers - from Sacred Heart Church to Placita de Leones, which is near a highly trafficked bridge that crosses into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Thursday, July 22, 2010 |  | | Vatican says new norms will strengthen efforts against abusive priests | The Vatican has revised its procedures for handling priestly sex abuse cases, streamlining disciplinary measures, extending the statute of limitations and defining child pornography as an act of sexual abuse of a minor. Vatican officials said the changes allow the Church to deal with such abuse more rapidly and effectively, often through dismissal of the offending cleric from the priesthood. Tuesday, July 20, 2010 |  | | Archbishop Wuerl says norms on women's ordination reflect sacraments' importance |
The Vatican's decision to declare the attempted ordination of women a major Church crime reflects "the seriousness with which it holds offenses against the sacrament of holy orders" and is not a sign of disrespect toward women, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington said July 15. The archbishop, who chairs the U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine, spoke at a news briefing in the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops hours after the Vatican issued new norms for handling priestly sex abuse cases and updated its list of the "more grave crimes" against Church law, including for the first time the "attempted sacred ordination of a woman." Tuesday, July 20, 2010 |  |
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