Carol Zimmermann

President Joe Biden announced Dec. 23 that he is commuting the death sentences of 37 men convicted of murder who will now serve life imprisonment sentences without parole.

If the relic of the renowned 13th-century Dominican friar could travel 4,000 miles from its resting place in France, I could certainly make the 29-mile pilgrimage from my Maryland home to one of its stops in D.C.

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who gained national attention for his controversial graduation speech at Benedictine College, had something to say on X, formerly Twitter, about how Cardinal Cupich wore his pectoral cross.

Tony Spence, former director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, died July 28 after a series of health conditions. He is remembered for his dedication to Catholic journalism and for being a true friend to many.

In an end-of-the year decision, the Supreme Court said Dec. 27 that a federal public health rule that allows immigration officials at the border to quickly turn away migrants seeking asylum could stay in place while legal challenges to the policy played out.

Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily stopped the Biden administration from ending a pandemic-related border restriction with a one-page order Dec. 19.

Catholic and other opponents of the death penalty applauded Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's decision to commute the sentences of the state's 17 inmates on death row, changing their sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Supreme Court justices Nov. 29 examined a Biden administration policy that placed the arrest and deportation of some unauthorized immigrants over others.

In the third week of November, three executions by lethal injection took place in the U.S. in just two days and a fourth execution was called off after failed attempts happened close to the expiration of the prisoner's death warrant.

Catholic leaders have condemned the Nov. 19 attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that killed at least five people and injured at least 25.

In oral arguments Oct. 11, the Supreme Court considered the case of Texas inmate Rodney Reed, who has been on death row for more than 25 years and has gained the attention of Catholic leaders and celebrities for his claims of innocence.

At an Oct. 10 ceremony at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, Catholic advocates working to bring an end to the death penalty acknowledged leaders in the fight against capital punishment in the U.S.

Catholic immigration advocates are emphasizing that the Oct. 5 ruling by a federal appeals court -- finding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is unlawful -- sends another signal that permanent legislation is needed to protect young immigrants from deportation and put them on a path to U.S. citizenship.

A federal court in Indiana sided with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and one of its Catholic high schools in a lawsuit filed by a former guidance counselor who said her contract was not renewed because of her same-sex union.

The Supreme Court begins its new term Oct. 3, jumping right back into the fray with cases that take on affirmative action, voting, immigration, the environment and freedom of speech.

The Supreme Court June 30 rejected a challenge to New York's vaccine mandate for health care workers with no religious exemption.

Catholic leaders praised the Supreme Court's June 30 decision that gave the Biden administration the go-ahead to rescind a Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" immigration policy requiring asylum-seekers at the southwest U.S. border to wait in Mexico for their asylum hearings.

In a 6-3 ruling June 21, the Supreme Court said a Maine tuition aid program that excluded religious schools violated the Constitution's free exercise clause. The opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, said: "A state need not subsidize private education but once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious."

Stephen Schneck, a Catholic activist and retired professor, was appointed June 15 by President Joe Biden to serve on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal watchdog group that monitors religious freedom violations.

Arizona's Catholic bishops and other Catholic opponents of the death penalty spoke out against the recent executions of two Arizona death-row prisoners, following a nearly eight-year pause in executions in the state.