NEW YORK (RNS) A year ago, the Rev. Frank Pavone was facing an existential crisis. Confined to a convent in Texas, the longtime anti-abortion activist was fighting accusations of financial mismanagement. Now Pavone is back with a new mission: defeating Barack Obama and making Priests for Life answerable only to Rome. By David Gibson.

(RNS) Here is the text of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan's closing benediction at the 2012 Democratic National Convention on Thursday night.

NEW YORK (RNS) The Al Smith Dinner has always provided a few hours of comic relief from the angry volleys of the campaign battlefield. But New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan's invitation to President Obama is angering pro-lifers and giving the archbishop some pre-dinner agita. By David Gibson.

(RNS) After Friday's deadly shootings in Colorado, religious leaders called for stricter gun control. But is gun control a "religious" issue? By David Gibson.

(RNS) During the dramatic diplomatic negotiations over blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, anti-abortion groups in the U.S. hailed Chen as one of their own. But Chen is now in the U.S., and he may not be as ``pro-life'' as some of his American supporters assumed. By David Gibson.