Pope Benedict XVI made an urgent plea for peace and an end to disrespect for life and law in Somalia. 

Five years after the devastating effects of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, rebuilding efforts are still very much a work in progress. Many, but not all, Gulf Coast residents have returned and although many homes and buildings have been rebuilt, more still needs to be done. 

A new “social contract” is needed in today’s economy, said Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., in the U.S. bishops’ annual Labor Day statement. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve a drug labeled as an emergency contraceptive is a “dangerous step toward erasing any meaningful distinction between contraception and abortion,” said the U.S. bishops’ pro-life spokeswoman. 

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo has praised a federal judge’s recent ruling that temporarily stopped federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, but the U.S. Department of Justice said it would appeal the decision.