Catholic Charities USA

Cardinal Timothy Dolan is being called on to support gay homeless youth. ?Cardinal Timothy Dolan is being called on to support gay homeless youth. Earlier this month, Dolan's response to a homeless shelter in New York City dedicated to gay youth prompted Joseph Amodeo to resign from the junior board of the city's Catholic Charities. On Monday, Amodeo launched a Change.org campaign calling on Dolan ?to support LGBT youth in need.? Carl Siciliano, who heads the Ali Forney Center, started the conflict when he sent a letter to Dolan, a vocal opponent of the state's gay marriage law, in which he stated that Dolan's ?loud and strident voice against the acceptance of LGBT people? creates ?a climate where parents turn on their own children.? ?As youths find the courage and integrity to be honest about who they are at younger ages, hundreds of thousands are being turned out of their homes and forced to survive alone on the streets by parents who cannot accept having a gay child,? Siciliano wrot

The U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Thursday vowed to oppose 'unjust' laws. The U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Thursday vowed to oppose ?unjust? laws. In its Statement of Religious Liberty, the bishops are calling for Catholics to participate in a ?great national campaign? to defend religious liberty. The ?A Fortnight for Freedom? calls for ?all the energies the Catholic community can muster? to resist ?totalitarian incursions against religious liberty? from June 21 to July 4. Religious liberty, the bishops said, is ?under attack, both at home and abroad.? ?To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other,? the statement reads in part. Among the seven examples of what they say are violations of religion freedom is not being allowed to refuse placement of children with foster or adoptive gay couples. ?Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and the state of Illinois have driven local Catholic Charities out of the busin

Joseph Amodeo has resigned from a church charity board citing NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan's response to a gay homeless shelter. Citing New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan's response to a gay homeless shelter, Joseph Amodeo has resigned from the junior board of the city's Catholic Charities. The Associated Press reported that Amodeo quit on Saturday over the cardinal's attitude. Carl Siciliano, who heads the Ali Forney Center, a homeless shelter dedicated to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, started the conflict when he sent a letter to Dolan, a vocal opponent of the state's gay marriage law, in which he stated that Dolan's ?loud and strident voice against the acceptance of LGBT people? creates ?a climate where parents turn on their own children.? ?As youths find the courage and integrity to be honest about who they are at younger ages, hundreds of thousands are being turned out of their homes and forced to survive alone on the streets by parents who cannot accept having a gay

About 100 people on Sunday gathered outside the Cathedral of St. Paul to protest the archdiocese's support for a gay marriage ban. About 100 people on Sunday gathered outside the Cathedral of St. Paul to protest the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis' support for a proposed constitutional amendment which would define marriage as a heterosexual union, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. The weekly protest, now in its third week, is organized by the group Catholics for Marriage Equality MN. Archbishop John C. Nienstedt has strongly supported the move to ban gay marriage in the state. In January, he was criticized for ordering priests to support the amendment or remain silent. The Minnesota Catholic Conference, the Archdiocese's lobbying wing, is a member of the Minnesota for Marriage Coalition, the largest group lobbying for the amendment's passage. ?It's an attempt by Catholic people to stand up and say no to the priority the archbishop has set in spending last fiscal year, 2011,

(Reuters) - Catholic bishops, energized by a battle over contraception funding, are planning an aggressive campaign to rally Americans against a long list of government measures which they say intrude on religious liberty.

(Reuters) - Catholic bishops, energized by a battle over contraception funding, are planning an aggressive campaign to rally Americans against a long list of government measures which they say intrude on religious liberty.

The Virginia Board of Social Services on Wednesday approved new rules allowing adoption agencies to discriminate based on sexual orientation. ?The Virginia Board of Social Services on Wednesday approved 5 to 1 new rules that allow adoption agencies to discriminate based on sexual orientation, political beliefs and other characteristics, The Washington Post reported. The new regulations, which strip out protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, age, disability, gender, family status and political beliefs, take effect May 1. Board chair Bela Sood, the lone dissenter, told the board that scientific evidence does not support the claims of some religious groups that heterosexual couples make better parents than gay couples do. ?The science really doesn't substantiate the notion that that is the only way children should be raised? Sood said. Virginia policy allows married couples and single folks ? regardless of sexual orientation ? to adopt a child. The policy dispropo

It's easy to shift from somber to surreal in Southern Nevada. The day begins with a somber reminder of the sacrifice of military families. The day ends 16 hours later with a reminder of how many of us use the freedom those military families secure: We execute our God-given right to be fat, drunk and stupid.

Clay McRae is something of a recent exception as far as Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Nevada and Utah is concerned.

Project Bread reports that more than 10 percent of Massachusetts households surveyed over the past three years worried about having enough food, the highest level in Massachusetts since the federal government began collecting the information in 1995.

Carol Luke had nowhere to turn for Thanksgiving dinner.

Catholic Charities groups in Illinois announced on Tuesday they were 'reluctantly' dropping their fight against gay adoptions. Catholic Charities groups in Illinois announced on Tuesday they were ?reluctantly? dropping their fight against gay adoptions, the AP reported. After Illinois approved a civil unions law that recognizes gay and lesbian couples, Catholic Charities dioceses in Joliet, Springfield and Belleville told the state that it could not accommodate prospective fosters parents in a civil union. The group maintains that the teachings of the Catholic Church define marriage as a heterosexual union. Catholic Charities sued the state after it ended over $30 million in annual contracts. It claimed it was exempt from the law under its religious protections clause and that the state had violated the property rights of Catholic Charities when it refused to sign new contracts. The state argued that the law's religious exemptions only applied to clergy who refused to officiate over th

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - At Toledo Catholic Charities' family shelter, there hasn't been an open spot in three years -- a sign of chronic problems in the Ohio city which placed first in the nation for rising poverty rates.

In a small space on the second floor of the Promenade mall, across Maryland Parkway from UNLV, something unusual is happening this semester. Close as it is to campus, it would be ideal for study groups or research collaborations.

When the folks at the cable TV show "Pawn Stars" examined a leather-bound copy of "The Godfather" screenplay, they concluded it was autographed by Al Pacino and offered to buy it from Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada for $500.

Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Herman Cain said Monday that religious rights should trump the rights of gay couples. Presidential candidates Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Herman Cain said Monday that the rights of religious groups should trump the rights of gay and lesbian couples. The three GOP candidates answered questions on Labor Day at the Palmetto Freedom Forum sponsored by the American Principles Project. Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also participated in the forum. Texas Governor Rick Perry canceled on the event at the last minute to return to Texas to deal with out-of-control wildfires which have destroyed nearly 500 homes. Asking the questions were Iowa Representative Steve King, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and Robert P. George, founder of the American Principles Project and chairman emeritus of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage. George asked the candidates whether the

Illinois Catholic Charities has announced it will appeal a decision on gay adoptions. Illinois Catholic Charities has announced it will appeal a decision on gay adoptions, the AP reported. After Illinois approved a civil unions law that recognizes gay and lesbian couples, Catholic Charities in Joliet, Peoria, Springfield and Belleville told the state that it could not accommodate prospective fosters parents in a civil union. The group maintains that the teachings of the Catholic Church define marriage as a heterosexual union. Skipping over whether Catholic Charities is exempt from the law under its religious protections clause, Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Schmidt ruled in favor of the state on August 18. Schmidt's ruling narrowly focused on whether the state violated the property rights of Catholic Charities when it refused to sign new contracts. ?No citizen has a recognized legal right to a contract with the government,? he wrote. Peter Breen, an attorney for the non-profit age

An Illinois judge has ruled the state can deny Catholic Charities state funds to run its foster care and adoption services. ?An Illinois judge has ruled the state can deny Catholic Charities state funds to run its foster care and adoption services. The state decided after four decades against renewing contracts with Catholic Charities in Joliet, Peoria, Springfield and Belleville. Catholic Charities policy turns away openly gay parents. The issue became heated in June when a civil unions law that recognizes gay and lesbian couples approved last December went into effect. Noting the teachings of the Catholic Church, which defines marriage as a heterosexual union, Catholic Charities told the state that it could not accommodate prospective foster parents in a civil union. The foster care and adoption agency argued it was exempt from the law under its religious protections clause. The state, however, argued that the law's religious exemptions only apply to clergy who refuse to officiate at

SPRINGFIELD, Ill (Reuters) - Illinois can sever ties to Catholic charities that provide foster and adoption services for the state if the groups discriminate against unmarried and gay couples when placing children, a judge ruled on Thursday.

The world Luzau Balowa lives in today is much different from the one he escaped eight years ago.