Recently added articles from National Catholic Reporter:

Corrections.(INSIDE NCR)(Correction notice)

Jun 27, 2008 ... Sr. Mary McCauley, pastoral administrator of St. Bridget Church in Postville, Iowa, is a Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There was a mistake in the name of her order in the article describing St. Bridget's efforts to assist the immigrant community following the federal raid, ...

'Tsunami of the plains'.(IN THE BEGINNING)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Local residents (left to right) Janice Pugh, Frieda Sojka and Cathy Crawford walk up the Highway 92 ramp after delivering homemade lunches to Iowa National Guardsmen posted at a roadblock to the flooded road in Columbus Junction, Iowa, June 17. Floodwaters ...

'Unaffiliated' voters in play.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... WASHINGTON -- The 2008 presidential election may see the emergence of a new influential group of voters, the "unaffiliated"--those who identify themselves as secular, agnostic or do not assign themselves to any religious category, according to a survey released June 9. The ...

Boston parishes lose appeals.(U.S. BRIEFS)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... BOSTON -- The Catholic church's highest court has rejected appeals of the closures of eight Boston-area parishes, the Boston archdiocese confirmed June 10. Boston-area Catholics have vowed to continue their fight to have their closed parishes reopened. The Apostolic Signatura ...

Quotable & notable.(IN THE BEGINNING)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... "Can you be Catholic and an activist? I say, absolutely. Absolutely. You cannot be a Catholic and not be an activist. That's the Gospel. " --Fr. Michael Pfleger returning to work June 16 at St. Sabina Catholic Church, Chicago, following his suspension for mocking Sen. Hillary ...

Religious challenge governor.(U.S. BRIEFS)(New York Gov. David Paterson )(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... NEW YORK -- The week that California began allowing same-sex marriages, religious groups challenged a decision by New York Gov. David Paterson to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The New York State Catholic Conference called Paterson's decision "a destructive ...

Petition pushes married clergy.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... LONDON -- An ad hoc group of Catholics is circulating a petition calling for the bishops of England and Wales to open the doors to ministry for married clergy. June 29 has been designated "Petition Sunday" in England and Wales, the first major public push to collect signatures ....

Prequel told to film elsewhere.(WORLD BRIEFS)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... ROME--Rome diocesan officials have denied Hollywood producers permission to film the prequel to "The Da Vinci Code" inside its churches in Rome. Producers of the film, "Angels and Demons," were turned down because the movie is a work of "fantasy that damages common religious ...

U.N. General Assembly.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... Fr. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a Los Angeles-born priest who served as Nicaragua's foreign minister from 1979 to 1990, was elected president of the U.N. General Assembly June 4. D'Escoto, ...

Diane Olson and Robin Tyler obtained a marriage license from a county clerk June 16 and were married on the steps of the Los Angeles County Courthouse by a rabbi under a traditional Jewish chuppah.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... Diane Olson and Robin Tyler obtained a marriage license from a county clerk June 16 and were married on the steps of the Los Angeles County Courthouse by a rabbi under a traditional Jewish chuppah. They were ...

When Meghan Hurley got word last month that she had won the Eileen Egan Award for a series of articles on global trade, she was doing volunteer work with teenage girls high in the Andes Mountains, half a world away from Cabrini College in Radnor, Pa.(PEOPLE)

Jun 27, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] When Meghan Hurley got word last month that she had won the Eileen Egan Award for a series of articles on global trade, she was doing volunteer work with teenage girls high in the Andes Mountains, half a world away from Cabrini College in Radnor, Pa. The ...

V. Gene Robinson.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay Episcopal bishop, has joined in a civil union with his male partner of 19 years, Mark Andrew. The private June 7 ceremony ...

Two prominent TV broadcasters who were Catholic passed away in early June.(PEOPLE)(Tim Russert and Jim McKay)(Obituary)(Brief article)

Jun 27, 2008 ... Two prominent TV broadcasters who were Catholic passed away in early June. Tim Russert, NBC news Washington bureau chief and host of "Meet the Press," died of a heart attack June 13. He was 58. Jim McKay, the driving force over four decades behind ABC's ...

Issues more than skin deep: exhibits of dead bodies have produced vigorous ethical debate. Some find them awe-inspiring, some find them exploitative, some find them gross. Where do you come down?(COVER STORY: BODY EXHIBITS)

Jun 27, 2008; Humphrey, Michael ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Four high school students coolly regard a man and a woman who are in more than one sense unclothed, observing the standing bodies from various points. Their comments reflect that blend of innocent curiosity and uncanny knowledge that makes most teenagers ...

Big topics, few decisions as bishops meet.(NATION)

Jun 27, 2008; Allen, John L., Jr. ... Semiannual meetings of U.S. Catholic bishops have recently been remarkable--less for what the bishops do than for what they leave undone. A mid-June assembly in Orlando was a case in point, as bishops grappled with, but left unresolved, three big-ticket challenges: * A ...

Women priest carry on despite Vatican.(NATION)(Gloria Ray Carpeneto, Judy Lee, Gabriella Velardi-Ward, MaryAnn McCarthy Schoettly )

Jun 27, 2008; Coday, Dennis ... Despite a recent decree that reiterates the official Vatican stance that women cannot be ordained and that those who attempt it are automatically excommunicated, women continue to step forward for ordination. Three women are to be ordained to the priesthood and one woman as a ...

'Company man' challenges church secrecy: clericalism, accountability not just liberal issues, says Russell Shaw.(NATION: ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE CHURCH)(Nothing to Hide: Secrecy, Communication and Communion in the Catholic Church)(Book review)

Jun 27, 2008; Roberts, Tom ... Secrecy within the church is a "stifling, deadening" force "that does immense injury to communion and community." Clericalism is "an elitist mindset" that takes for granted that the ordained "are intrinsically superior to other members of the church" and was "at the heart of the sex abuse ...

Food crisis needs farmer input, forum says.(WORLD)

Jun 27, 2008; Zaccaro, Sabina ... While record-high food prices, global trade policy and the impact of biofuels on the global agricultural industry dominated an international summit called earlier this month by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, a parallel meeting of small-scale farmers and anti-hunger activists ...

Protest follows Catholic peace award.(WORLD)

Jun 27, 2008; Marrin, Patrick ... Protests followed in El Salvador and among Salvadoran support organizations in the United States after the president of El Salvador received a peace medallion from a foundation run by the Vatican's apostolic nuncio at the United Nations. The 2008 "Path to Peace Award" was given ...

Fishhooks on a typewriter: 'Diminished Capacity' is a quirky comedy drawing on concerns about aging.(MOVIES)(Movie review)

Jun 27, 2008; Cunneen, Joseph ... Diminished Capacity, a non-blockbuster, has all the outer marks of a small independent film. For many viewers, it should be a welcome relief from summer action spectaculars like "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." It raises the question of what makes a less publicized ...