(RNS) Dozens of Catholic universities, dioceses and other institutions filed lawsuits on Monday (May 21) to overturn the Obama administration’s contraception mandate plan, a clear and coordinated effort to oppose the new federal mandate. By David Gibson.

(RNS) In the propaganda surrounding the Obama administration's contraception mandate, the Department of Health and Human Services seems to suggest that women’s only stake in the matter is "free" contraception.  This is a shallow -- and frankly demeaning -- view of women. By Helen Alvare.

(RNS) Can a Catholic politician speak at a Catholic university without drawing protesters? Not if it's House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan or, soon, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. By David Gibson.

(RNS) The nation’s Catholic bishops are calling on the faithful to pray and mobilize to battle what they see as a series of threats to religious freedom, and they are setting aside the two weeks before July 4 as the centerpiece of their "Fortnight for Freedom" campaign. By David Gibson.

(RNS) The Obama administration is offering to expand the number of faith-based groups that can be exempt from the controversial contraception mandate, and proposing that third-party companies administer coverage for self-insured faith-based groups at no cost. By David Gibson.

(RNS) U.S. Catholic bishops have voiced doubts about the Obama administration's plans to modify a mandate that employers provide free birth control coverage, and they are vowing a new campaign to rally Americans to defend religious freedom. By David Gibson.

Even though Catholic bishops are leading the charge that the new White House contraception mandate is a threat to religious liberty, Catholics reject -- by a 57 to 38 percent margin -- the idea that religious liberty is under siege, according to a new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute and Religion News Service.

(RNS) The Catholic bishop leading the hierarchy's push against the White House's contraception mandate says the bishops hope to re-start contentious talks with the Obama administration but says church leaders "have gotten mixed signals from the administration" and the situation "is very fluid." By David Gibson.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday (March 9) denounced the "powerful political and cultural currents" that are working to "alter the legal definition of marriage" in the United States. By Alessandro Speciale.

(RNS) as the U.S. hierarchy stakes its claim as the first and final arbiter of the Catholic position in this hotly contested battle, the bishops are also facing a number of internal challenges. Left unchecked, they could undermine the bishops' position and weaken their future standing if they are seen as losing their faceoff with the White House. By David Gibson.

(RNS) The Obama administration is pushing back against charges by the nation's top Catholic bishop that talks to create a broader religious exemption from a controversial birth control coverage mandate are "going nowhere," and that White House officials are dismissing the central role of the bishops. By David Gibson.

There's a new kind of Mormon baptism (and Salt Lake City likely won't be amused) and a tragic kind of baptism at an Indiana church. Fidel Castro may come back to Mother Rome, and Southern Baptists say "no thanks" to a BUBBA name.

ST. LOUIS (RNS) The conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has not had much in common with Roman Catholics, but President Obama's contraception mandate has led the St. Louis-based church to find "large consensus with the Roman Catholic Church on moral issues," its new president said. By Tim Townsend.

WASHINGTON (RNS) A House committee holds hearings Thursday that will find the Obama administration guilty of trampling on religious freedom by requiring employers to provide insurance that includes contraception coverage. By Lauren Markoe.

No joke, he was asked to leave. And he was sober. But a nun is going to the Oscars. Jesuits want bishops to tone down the "war on religion" chatter. China may invite religious freedom envoy. And Richard Dawkins needs to Google Darwin.