Nation/World

People living with Down syndrome is a vanishing population in the United States. A Catholic University of America Institute for Human Ecology panel informed an audience recently that selective abortion based on a test result is the reason.

Catholic communities across the U.S. have been supporting migrant families arriving in the United States fleeing crisis situations by participating in the Welcome Circles, a program developed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services.

Josh Ritter of Ham Lake, MN, died from an aneurysm at the age of 33, the same age of Christ. The cast of the parish’s presentation of the Living Stations dedicated it to Josh and another young parishioner who died. Both had played Jesus in previous years.

The solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, celebrated nine months before Christmas, is assigned to March 25 on the church’s General Calendar, but this year, that celebration might be changed to a different day.

Photos featured this week include Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis leading the Minnesota Senate in prayer, violence in Haiti and prayer service for peace in Ukraine at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia.

As minerals fuel deadly conflicts in Africa, a leading cardinal urged local churches to ensure that Africa’s abundant resources contribute to the benefit of its populations instead of hurting them.

The baptism-in-a-day event was designed to be welcoming to families that had not had their children baptized for varying reasons. Twenty children were all baptized as part of the special celebration.

A recent study from The Institute for Family Studies reveals that a record number of young adults are predicted to never marry. This is a concern as The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that marriage is a vocation.