WASHINGTON—Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of Seattle and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, today called upon President Obama and the Central American presidents to protect and care for children and families fleeing violence in the region.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President Barack Obama's executive order of July 21 has installed workplace rules forbidding the firing of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people by the federal government and federal contractors -- a key provision in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act languishing in Congress.

In a narrowly tailored 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court June 30 said closely held companies may be exempted from a government requirement to include contraceptives in employee health insurance coverage under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

As the federal government struggles to care for an unexpected influx of children caught trying to cross the border without a parent or guardian, dioceses and social service agencies where the minors are passing through are trying to provide assistance.

Texas' Catholic Bishops are deeply concerned about the increasing number of unaccompanied children and mothers from Central America and Mexico who are crossing into the United States through our state.

On Monday, June 23, Liberty Institute secured a victory in its fight to protect the free speech and religious liberty rights of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin, and Austin area Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs). In the case Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin et al v. City of Austin, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled that the Austin city ordinance targeting the religious life-affirming groups unconstitutional.

As the nation prepares to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy on Friday, June 6, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS) salutes Father Ignatius Maternowski, the only United States military chaplain to die on D-Day.

Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of Seattle and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, called upon the Obama administration and Congress to protect unaccompanied children from Mexico and Central America crossing the border and to respond to the root causes of poverty and increasing violence as a long-term solution to the issue.

WASHINGTON—Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), called upon Congress to reform our nation’s immigration system. “The time to act is now,” said Archbishop Kurtz in a June 5 statement. He spoke in advance of the spring meeting of the U.S. bishops, to be held June 10-13, in New Orleans.

Donations to the 2013 Retirement Fund for Religious collection amounted to nearly $28.3 million nationwide, with $63,668.32 coming from the Diocese of Corpus Christi. This is the highest total since 2008.

A federal appeals court in New Orleans stayed an execution scheduled for May 13 in Huntsville, two hours before the state of Texas was set to execute Robert James Campbell. The court said prosecutors in Campbell’s case did not take into account evidence that he had an intellectual disability.

Two reports on Latinos and religion released the first week of May paint a picture of the U.S. Catholic Church at a potentially precarious point with its fastest-growing demographic.

SAN ANTONIO—Catholic Life Insurance is now accepting applications for the 2014 Msgr. Albert G. Henkes and Msgr. Lawrence J. Stuebben Scholarships. These scholarships are designed to offset tuition expenses of Roman Catholic seminarians. The deadline to apply is June 15, 2014.

A MV-22 Osprey, with engines roaring, waits on the flight deck for its next mission. Fueled-up and pilots on station, only one more passenger needs to board: Lt. Robert J. Chapa, Roman Catholic chaplain aboard USS Makin Island.

On the night of April 23, someone vandalized the Divine Mercy display, which was set up in Daley Plaza by private citizens on April 17. For the previous seven years, the display held its nine-day vigil without incident. This is the first time that someone has defaced the images.

A widower honoring his late wife and a Chinese graduate student are among the thousands of new Catholics joining the Catholic Church in the United States at Easter. All have participated in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), a process of conversion and study in the Catholic faith for catechumens and candidates coming into full communion with the Church.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Fairfield University’s Center for Catholic Studies will host an international conference concerning bringing together people of different Christian traditions from five continents, from June 9-12.

NOGALES, Ariz. (CNS) -- With the backdrop a few feet away of the rusted iron slats of the 30-foot wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley and a dozen other bishops from three countries prayed April 1 for compassion and for a return to ideals that welcome immigrants.

WASHINGTON—The 2014 Catholic Home Missions Appeal will be taken up in many dioceses the weekend of April 26-27. The appeal supports isolated, challenged parishes and missions in dioceses and eparchies across the United States and in several U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific islands, including Samoa Pago-Pago, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

WASHINGTON (CNS)—Oral arguments in two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court March 25 focused on whether for-profit corporations have religious grounds to object to the new health care law's requirement that most employers provide contraceptive coverage in their employee health plans.