Gregory defends diocese The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Tuesday defended his diocese’s refusal to release the mental health records of a retired priest accused of sexual abuse, saying priests’ rights have to be balanced with those of alleged victims. “Priests have been saying their privacy rights have been trashed,” said…

Designed to provide stem cells for their siblings In a growing practice that troubles some ethicists, a Chicago laboratory helped create five healthy babies to serve as stem-cell donors for their ailing brothers and sisters. The made-to-order infants, from different families, were screened when they were embryos to make sure they would be compatible donors.…

Back in the classroom. Iona College students returned from spring break a few weeks ago to a subtle, unannounced change in their classrooms. “Some people took a double-take, like ‘There are crucifixes in our classrooms. When did that happen?’ ” said Karol Markosky, 22, a senior from Bethel, Conn. “I think it’s a nice addition.…

I discovered that Loyola has the page up for my fall book from them: Here ’tis Here’s the cover: And no, we’re really not bored with De-Coding, are we? Amazon is back to 2-3 weeks. Grrrrr. But I hear the new printing comes in today, so perhaps that will change by the end of the…

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