Congress

Foreign-born religious workers are essential for ensuring the availability of the sacraments and mission-critical staff, but the system that allows them to serve is facing serious challenges.

Biden’s 2023 State of the Union was his first to a divided Congress, as Republicans began their slim House majority in January, and his first to a full chamber, as the event had reduced seating capacity for several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some pro-life leaders have called on Congress to make childbirth free for mothers, while others maintain addressing the financial burden of raising children will make greater impacts on saving lives from abortion.

In the spotlight: feast of the Epiphany, House Speaker election, Pope Benedict funeral, Buffalo Bills rally around teammate

During its tenure, the next Congress and its speaker are also likely to offer a mixed bag of legislative results on issues of importance to Catholics. Some of those issues, including abortion and immigration, are cornerstones of increasingly partisan national debates.

This January, the march up Constitution Avenue, which has always ended at the Supreme Court building, will end at the East Front of the Capitol instead.

In focus: Catholics in Northern Ireland, tensions in Nicaragua, Church workers kidnapped in Cameroon

The bill requires safeguards to be installed by tech firms to protect minors, and parental controls that can, among other things, track the time spent by kids on platforms, limit purchases made online and address issues of addictive usage.