Articles by Kevin J. Jones
TikTok lifts ban on Ruth Sent Us. Here's what we know about this anti-Catholic group
May 18, 2022 / 15:30 pmRuth Sent Us has no publicly known leaders, spokespeople, or mailing address. Yet its inflammatory rhetoric and provocative, theatrical tactics have thrust it into the forefront of the media’s coverage of the furor surrounding the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade.
In Michigan, 'rogue decision' blocks longtime state abortion law
May 17, 2022 / 18:00 pmMichigan’s longstanding law against abortion cannot be enforced if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, a Michigan judge said Tuesday in a temporary injunction.
Legal scrutiny delays Northern Ireland limits on pro-life outreach at abortion clinics
May 16, 2022 / 14:39 pmThe Attorney General for Northern Ireland, Brenda King, has asked the U.K. Supreme Court to rule whether a ban on “influencing” women or protesting abortion outside abortion clinics is within the competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Senate again rejects sweeping federal abortion bill. Bishops relieved, Biden adamant.
May 11, 2022 / 17:25 pmAn expansive abortion bill that would declare abortion a human right, undercut existing state pro-life laws, and force objecting doctors to perform abortions, has again failed to pass the U.S. Senate.
As Covid-19 weakens, time for Catholics in England and Wales to return to Mass, bishops say
May 9, 2022 / 13:15 pmCatholics in England and Wales should come back to Mass now that the dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic have receded, the countries’ bishops have said as they announce the reinstatement of the Sunday Mass obligation.
Must Roe go? Yes, say Alito's leaked draft and other critics of abortion precedent
May 6, 2022 / 14:05 pmA leaked Supreme Court draft that could overturn pro-abortion rights precedents in the U.S. drew praise from critics who say the current precedent was built on deeply flawed legal and factual claims.
Painful changes for Catholic News Service as domestic operations to close
May 4, 2022 / 14:00 pmCatholic News Service, the news agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will end domestic operations at the end of the year. The U.S. bishops’ conference characterized the changes and office closures as a “significant realignment.”
Roe v. Wade 'egregiously wrong from the start'? Key passages from leaked Dobbs draft ruling
May 3, 2022 / 18:00 pmThe Supreme Court’s previous abortion rulings were “egregiously wrong from the start” and on a “collision course with the Constitution.” These are among the colorful phrases of a 98-page preliminary draft of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could return abortion law to the U.S. states and their voters.
Cardinal Dolan talks Ukraine, refugee relief, Russian invasion
May 2, 2022 / 19:00 pmThe efforts to help Ukraine’s refugees are an inspiration, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has said at the conclusion of his visit to the region. However, he is still discouraged by the “raw evil” of the Russian invasion and worried about worse to come in the future.
After religious controversy, Massachusetts school board okays Christian private school
Apr 29, 2022 / 17:10 pmA Massachusetts school committee has fulfilled its duty and approved the application of a private Christian school despite controversy when committee members questioned the planned school’s religious beliefs in a way that drew accusations of impermissible hostility to religion.
Lawsuit claims Knoxville diocese mishandled priest's sex assault of parishioner
Apr 28, 2022 / 16:58 pmThe Diocese of Knoxville allegedly mishandled a report that a priest sexually assaulted a parishioner who sought grief counseling in 2020, a lawsuit charges.
Health-sharing ministry's bankruptcy shows need for good standards, scrutiny, insiders say
Apr 28, 2022 / 12:00 pmA faith-based ministry that aimed to help Christians share one another’s medical costs filed for bankruptcy and dissolved last year, leaving members with tens of millions of dollars of unpaid medical bills. In response, others in the health share ministry field emphasized the need for high standards.
Afghanistan, other countries see worrisome religious freedom trends, USCIRF warns
Apr 26, 2022 / 19:00 pmAfghanistan and four other countries should be added to the ten countries already recognized by the U.S. State Department for having particular religious freedom problems, the U.S. Commission on Interreligious Freedom said in its annual report released Monday.
Federal judge blocks Kentucky abortion law, citing compliance problems
Apr 25, 2022 / 14:53 pmAbortions have resumed in Kentucky after a federal judge temporarily blocked a multi-faceted abortion restrictions law and said the state needs to do more to ensure those affected by it can comply.
Funding for poor Los Angeles Catholic schools in limbo as judge nixes lawsuit
Apr 22, 2022 / 14:57 pmDespite a State of California report saying that the Los Angeles Unified School District wrongly withheld federal funding from Catholic schools that serve poor students, a judge has said the archdiocese still needs to make its case first through administrative action, not through a lawsuit.
More Indigenous Canadians meet with Pope Francis, amid talk of papal visit
Apr 21, 2022 / 18:00 pmAs the Catholic Church continues to engage Canada’s Indigenous people and questions of historical abuse, Pope Francis met with a delegation of Metis people from Manitoba on Thursday.
Professor who resisted mandatory transgender pronouns reaches settlement with university
Apr 19, 2022 / 16:28 pmShawnee State University and Prof. Nicholas Meriwether have agreed to a $400,000 settlement after the professor faced disciplinary action for declining to use the preferred pronouns of a self-identified transgender student.
Ukrainian suffering makes Rome's Via Crucis format 'incomprehensible', bishop says
Apr 14, 2022 / 15:07 pmAnother Ukrainian bishop has voiced concern about the incorporation of both Russian and Ukrainian families into Pope Francis’ Way of the Cross devotional this Good Friday, noting that many Ukrainians have a hard time understanding this portrayal amid continued Russian aggression.
Self-sabotaging Catholicism won't help Australia, archbishop says of plenary council prep
Apr 13, 2022 / 16:57 pmAt a time when Catholicism in Australia faces crises such as a loss of faith and declining religious practice, a plenary council preparatory document shows “serious failures” that suggest a lack of confidence and “evangelical vigor,” one archbishop has said.
As Canada normalizes euthanasia, assisted suicide for mentally ill, doctors voice concerns
Apr 12, 2022 / 17:18 pmLast year, Canadian lawmakers approved legislation that expanded the eligibility for euthanasia and assisted suicide to the mentally ill, and now policymakers, doctors, and others are debating what the law will mean for medical practice in the country.