Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl appeared to take a swipe at Georgetown University for inviting Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards to speak, saying that “it is neither authentically Catholic nor within the Catholic tradition for a university to provide a special platform to those voices that promote or support” issues such as abortion.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, a top adviser to Pope Francis, has denounced the idea of “therapeutic abortions” — which are carried out because of fetal abnormalities — as a response to birth defects caused by the mosquito-borne Zika virus that is setting off alarms throughout Latin America.

DUBLIN - The Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland have described as "profoundly disquieting" a ruling by the High Court that the region's ban on abortion in all but very limited circumstances breaches human rights legislation.

VATICAN - Pope Francis on Sept. 1 told priests to forgive repentant women who had had an abortion, specifically during the year-long jubilee celebration of Catholic faith, which begins in December.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is waging a campaign to defund Planned Parenthood, an effort involving pastors, sermons and fasting that the Texas senator insists isn’t political.

WASHINGTON - Liz Moran said the experience of trekking across the United States this summer to spread the Catholic Church's pro-life message was "life changing."

Green Party leader Elizabeth May made the perceptive point recently that democracy is too important to be left only to politicians. A nuance that might be added is that as a keystone of democracy, free, fair and above all vigorous elections should never become the exclusive preserve of the political actors seeking to benefit from them.

In recent years, up-and-coming leaders in the U.S. anti-abortion movement have been pushing for a kinder, gentler strategy for their “pro-life” campaign — an effort to win hearts and minds with an upbeat message and affecting ultrasound photos.

WASHINGTON - The head of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee Aug. 3 urged U.S. senators to take the federal money that goes to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and instead fund women's health care providers that do not promote abortion.

OTTAWA - Pro-life groups and at least one pro-life Member of Parliament have condemned Health Canada’s July 29 approval of abortion drug RU-486 or mifepristone.

OXNARD, Calif. - It is uncertain that a California pro-life group's ongoing series of undercover videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the illegal marketing and sale of fetal tissue will lead to defunding for the nation's leading provider of abortion services.

SALT LAKE CITY - Pro-life advocates from across the Salt Lake Valley rallied peacefully in front of Planned Parenthood July 28, calling for state and federal officials to investigate and defund Planned Parenthood.

WASHINGTON - Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley said that Planned Parenthood officials' videotaped descriptions of how fetal tissue and organs are procured for researchers during abortions illustrates what Pope Francis calls today's "throwaway culture."

WASHINGTON - Amid an outcry from U.S. Republicans demanding answers to questions raised by a video of a Planned Parenthood physician talking about preserving fetal organs and tissue for researchers for a fee, a second video emerged July 21 of a different physician from the organization talking about the same topic.

WASHINGTON - A video of a Planned Parenthood physician describing her procedures for keeping fetal organs intact during an abortion is "horrifying and heartbreaking," said U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Missouri.