A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) "confirms the U.S. bishops' longstanding concern about abortion coverage" in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), said Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Richard J. Malone delivered a keynote address to respect life coordinators that clarified Pope Francis' position on life issues. He also stated his views in no uncertain terms. "I believe that the primal evil in our time is the assault on unborn life," the bishop said during a Sept. 6 inservice held at the Catholic Center in downtown Buffalo.

Members of Stand True Pro-Life Outreach spent the summer traveling across the country dropping information like a gang of Johnny Appleseeds. They swung through Buffalo in mid-August to pray, protest and participate in a pro-life weekend.

An early Mass at St. Rose of Lima Parish in North Buffalo celebrated two important tenets of the American Catholic faith, as Bishop Richard J. Malone observed the Fortnight for Freedom and Rosary Novena for Life Saturday morning.

The guilt and pain of having an abortion can last for years. For some it leads to depression and anxiety. Others may develop an inability to connect with children. Catholic dioceses across the country offer healing through Project Rachel Ministries, the Catholic Church's outreach to women and men affected by abortion.

The first few days of May have brought a Pro-Life focus to the Diocese of Buffalo with a series of events that began Sunday with the second annual Blessing of the Child in the Womb Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo.

An article in The New York Times a few weeks ago caught my attention. It was about an effort to legalize commercial surrogacy in New York state, the process whereby people who wish to be parents pay a woman to rent out her womb to grow a baby.

Deacon Don Weigel led a faithful army to the state capitol on Public Policy Day to advocate for those in need. They spoke to state senators and assembly representatives, imploring them to pass legislation that would offer fair benefits to workers, restore dignity to inmates and decrease abortions.

Bryan Kemper almost missed out on speaking at the St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach banquet Feb. 12 for several reasons. Most involve his near death experiences.

It takes more than a polar vortex to stop the Pro-Life Movement. Over 300 people from Western New York bundled up and joined 20,000 others from all walks of life and faith backgrounds to tell the world abortion will not be tolerated

As I watched in shock, the same questions kept coming back to me: How can these soldiers do this? How can they act so brutally against their fellow man?

Respect life coordinators across the diocese have asked for more education on life issues and the diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities has replied. Warriors in the pro-life movement now hold quarterly Vine & Branches meetings to share information and hear from people making decisions that support life.

St. John the Baptist Church in Kenmore was filled to capacity on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, as Bishop Richard J. Malone celebrated the annual diocesan Mass in observance of the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in a May 21 statement, applauded 43 dioceses, hospitals, schools and church agencies for filing 12 lawsuits around the nation saying the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate violates religious freedom.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops are strongly united in their ongoing and determined efforts to protect religious freedom, the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said in a March 14 statement.

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York voiced dismay in the Administration's handling of the church as the White House and the church seek to work out religious freedom problems found in a mandate in the new health care reform bill.

For many years, the U.S. bishops have supported access to life-affirming health care for all. During the health care reform debate in Congress you received a number of urgent USCCB memorandum calling for health care legislation that would advance the goal of truly universal, life-affirming health care: upholding longstanding federal policies against abortion funding , protecting rights of conscience, and not leaving immigrants worse off.

1. The rule that created the uproar has not changed at all, but was finalized as is. Friday evening, after a day of touting meaningful changes in the mandate, HHS issued a regulation finalizing the rule first issued in August 2011, "without change." So religious employers dedicated to serving people of other faiths are still not exempt as "religious employers." Indeed, the rule describes them as "non-exempt."

WASHINGTON - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have issued the following statement:

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the following statement, responding to President Obama's announcement about religious freedom that was made at the White House on Feb. 10, 2012.

Most Catholic voters oppose the federal rule requiring religious institutions to buy insurance that covers contraception and sterilization, according to new research published Feb. 7.

The Catholic bishops of the United States called "literally unconscionable" a decision by the Obama Administration to continue to demand that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans. The Jan. 20 announcement means that this mandate and its very narrow exemption will not change at all; instead there will only be a delay in enforcement against some employers.