Articles by Daniel Payne
‘Legally meaningless’: Experts respond to Biden’s Equal Rights Amendment declaration
Jan 17, 2025 / 15:05 pmThe president on Friday proclaimed that the ERA — a measure abortion advocates have said could help legalize abortion nationwide — is “the law of the land.”
Biden says ‘Equal Rights Amendment’ is ‘law of the land’
Jan 17, 2025 / 11:30 amThe declaration appeared to carry no legal weight but could set off a protracted political and legal fight for the incoming Trump administration.
Survey: Alleged abuse of minors has cost U.S. Church $5 billion over 20 years
Jan 16, 2025 / 12:10 pmThe CARA survey polled about 200 dioceses and eparchies and approximately 220 religious communities of men over the course of the 20 years.
Brooklyn priest to pray at inauguration after ‘unlikely’ friendship with President Trump
Jan 16, 2025 / 11:40 amFather Francis Mann is scheduled to deliver the closing benediction at Trump’s second inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.
Catholic medical group sues Biden administration over emergency room abortion rule
Jan 14, 2025 / 17:15 pmThe federal government is accused of acting unlawfully when in July 2022 it directed that hospitals and emergency rooms would be required to perform abortions.
White House to remove Cuba from terror list amid Vatican’s efforts at prisoner release
Jan 14, 2025 / 16:45 pmA senior administration official told media in a call on Tuesday that President Joe Biden would be lifting Cuba from the list.
Opus Dei contests charges of malfeasance in author’s new book
Jan 14, 2025 / 15:00 pmThe book, written by Gareth Gore, describes Opus Dei as “a secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sect” that “pushed its radical agenda ... around the globe.”
Los Angeles archbishop: Catholics called to be God’s ‘instruments’ during deadly wildfires
Jan 10, 2025 / 14:50 pmThe prelate delivered the remarks as a homily at a special Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
Biden cancels trip to Italy and meeting with Pope Francis amid deadly California wildfires
Jan 10, 2025 / 12:05 pmBiden was set to travel to Rome from Jan. 9–12 at Pope Francis’ invitation. His audience with the Holy Father was set for Jan. 10.
Researchers underscore link between decline of marriage, plummeting fertility rates
Jan 10, 2025 / 07:00 amAssociates at the Ontario-based think tank Cardus assert that the decline of marriage is “one contributing issue” to plummeting fertility in Western countries.
Abortion group trains pharmacists to dispense abortion pills
Jan 9, 2025 / 14:30 pmA pilot program launched this month in Washington state has trained pharmacists to prescribe the abortion-drug combo mifepristone and misoprostol.
‘Families who have lost everything’: Los Angeles Archdiocese responds to deadly wildfires
Jan 9, 2025 / 12:30 pmArchdiocesan officials and local Church leaders in Los Angeles are working to shelter and assist victims of the ongoing wildfires there.
Lawsuit: City retaliated against Catholic hospital for refusing ‘body cavity’ drug search
Jan 7, 2025 / 14:00 pmThe suit said police brought a “detainee” to the hospital’s ER and requested doctors “perform a body cavity search” to determine if the suspect was in possession of drugs.
Biden attends prayer service for New Orleans terror attack victims hosted by archdiocese
Jan 7, 2025 / 13:30 pmThe president was among the dignitaries at the Monday evening event at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.
Shigemi Fukahori, Catholic atomic bomb survivor and peace advocate, dies at 93
Jan 6, 2025 / 12:50 pmIn 2020, at a ceremony in Japan, the peace advocate said: “I am determined to send our message to make Nagasaki the final place where an atomic bomb is ever dropped.”
Bishop urges faithful to fight ‘scourge of human trafficking’ in Pennsylvania
Jan 2, 2025 / 11:20 amIn a Dec. 29 pastoral letter Bishop Timothy Senior said he was “shocked and appalled” to learn about the extent of human trafficking within diocesan territory.
Catholics join other faith leaders for Baltimore prayer walk in memory of homicide victims
Dec 31, 2024 / 14:00 pmThe coalition met at St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish in the city’s Irvington neighborhood before holding a prayer walk to My Brother’s Keeper.
Judge says Wisconsin trial against McCarrick will remain suspended until his death
Dec 30, 2024 / 15:05 pmThe criminal case against McCarrick in Wisconsin was suspended in January after a psychologist hired by the court found that he was not competent to stand trial.
UPDATE: Oakland Diocese denies it used diocesan fund to hide money from abuse victims
Dec 30, 2024 / 11:25 amThe filing claims the diocese “perpetrated a fraudulent scheme to funnel substantial assets away from what would soon become its bankruptcy estate.”
Louisiana priest Lawrence Hecker dies in prison after life sentence over rape of teenager
Dec 30, 2024 / 10:55 amLawrence Hecker was indicted in September 2023 on felony charges related to allegations that he raped an underage teenage boy in the 1970s.