Pope Francis has named Msgr. Robert Coerver as bishop of the Diocese of Lubbock, Texas, and accepted the resignation of Bishop Plácido Rodríguez. Msgr. Coerver serves as a priest in the Diocese of Dallas.

In John Patrick Cobb’s world—nestled in a three-acre thicket off Old Bastrop Highway and feet from Carson Creek—he is surrounded by the very things that influence his paintings. Cows grazing in a field. A makeshift chapel made of mud. A vegetable garden. A chicken coop. In whole, the nature of the Texas landscape that he loves.

Businessman Howard E. Butt, Jr.—who pioneered the concept that the business world was a high calling for people of faith—died Sunday evening at home from complications related to Parkinson's. The former president of The H. E. Butt Foundation and H-E-B board vice chair was 89.

Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas has been appointed the head of Pope Francis’ new 'mega-dicastery' for laity, family and life – a decision that marks the second major appointment of an American to a Vatican position this summer.

Texas Medicaid will cover the cost of mosquito repellent for females between the ages of 10 and 45 or who are pregnant, HHS Executive Commissioner Charles Smith announced last week.

The Texas Catholic Conference has named Michael Barba as its associate director of public policy. Barba will assist Executive Director Jennifer Carr Allmon in serving as a representative of the Roman Catholic bishops of Texas before lawmakers.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso and El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser announced plans for a “Two Nations, One Faith” celebration at Sun Bowl Stadium at the University of Texas at El Paso on Feb. 17 in honor of Pope Francis’ visit to El Paso's sister-city, Juarez, Mexico.

The Texas Catholic Conference of bishops expressed their appreciation to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s LIFE Initiative to provide greater protections for children in the womb and to prevent the sale of fetal tissue in the state of Texas. The bishops are also grateful for the announcement of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s decision to end Planned Parenthood's participation in the state's Medicaid Program due to affiliates’ failure to perform “medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal, and ethical manner."

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops has called upon Governor Greg Abbott and other state leaders to end a political standoff and reconsider the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid coverage for an estimated 1.3 million uninsured Texans.

The leadership team for the Catholic Daughters of the Americas traveled across Texas gathering for a three day Organizational Meeting at the Oblate Renewal Center in San Antonio to present goals, operating procedures, and tools for the 2015-17 term.

The Texas Catholic Conference, the policy arm of the bishops of Texas, will host a discussion entitled "Journey to Mercy: Rethinking the Death Penalty in Texas" on Friday, Oct. 23, at the Texas Capitol Auditorium from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Marietta Jeager-Lane, from a Journey of Hope, will be the luncheon keynote speaker. She will relate her grief as the mother of a murder victim to finding forgiveness for the attacker.

At Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, members of the community, most of them volunteers at a respite center for immigrants at Sacred Heart parish hall, were invited to a special event by ABC News, but were not informed in advance of just how special that event would be.

With the new school year about to begin, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is warning Texas parents about the potential harm alcohol can have on their children’s academic success. More specifically, research has shown that teen brain development is adversely affected by alcohol, which could lead to poorer academic performance.

Texas’ Catholic Bishops have expressed deep concern and moral disgust at recent videos showing executives of Planned Parenthood casually negotiating the sale of infant body parts that have been harvested from abortions. The two undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress has awakened national attention to the atrocity of dismembering infants and then using those parts for medical experimentation.

Texas doctors performing abortions must still obtain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said on Thursday.

The Texas Catholic Conference expressed disappointment with the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 decision June 29, which temporarily blocks Texas from enforcing new requirements on abortion clinics that would force many of them to close.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with Texas abortion providers and temporarily put on hold a ruling that would have closed about half of the state’s abortion facilities.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion–in response to questions about the impact the US Supreme Court's ruling on marriage–that allows Texas county clerks and their employees as well as justices of the peace and judges to refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses if it would be contrary to their religious beliefs.

National Cooperative Bank (NCB), a leading financial services company dedicated to serving cooperatives and housing communities nationwide, announced that it has provided a $4.8 million construction loan to the Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, Texas. The financing will be used for the construction of a new monastery and administrative offices on the sisters’ grounds.