WASHINGTON – On November 21, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City and Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities joined 17 other pro-life groups in urging President Trump to ensure that an amendment led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), which would enrich global abortion providers, is not part of any final appropriations package.

In a letter to the president, the groups expressed “great concern” that the administration’s significant pro-life actions, “including [the] administration’s Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy (PLGHA), will be undermined by the Shaheen amendment which was included in the Senate’s State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations bill.”  

WASHINGTON—For over 30 years, the Retirement Fund for Religious collection has been coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) to be held in U.S. Catholic dioceses at the discretion of the local bishop. This year, the annual appeal will be held the weekend of December 7-8.

Benefitting some 30,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests, the Catholic bishops of the United States launched the Retirement Fund for Religious in 1988 to help address the profound lack of retirement funding among U.S. religious communities. The proceeds are distributed to eligible religious order communities to assist with retirement and healthcare expenses, and roughly 94% of the fund goes to aid elderly religious.

WASHINGTON— Pope Francis has appointed the Reverend Monsignor Francis Malone as Bishop-elect of Shreveport.

Monsignor Malone is a priest of the Diocese of Little Rock and currently serves as Chancellor for Ecclesial Affairs and Pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock. The appointment was publicized today in Washington, D.C, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.