Carol Zimmermann

Although next year's world Synod of Bishops on synodality may seem like it would be something far removed from U.S. Catholic college students, many are hoping that's not the case.

President Biden announced Feb. 25 at the White House that he has chosen a "proven consensus builder" by nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal appeals court judge, to serve on the Supreme Court.

With coronavirus cases declining in every state, many Catholic school officials are lifting mask requirements at diocesan schools following the lead of governors' announcements about lifting mask mandates for the general public, and in some cases, schools.

Catholic school enrollment increased for the first time in two decades this school year, according to a preliminary report released by the National Catholic Educational Association.

Catholic college leaders hardly need reminding that they work in challenging times, but during the Feb. 7 closing session of their annual meeting, they got just that.

Catholic leaders are encouraging people of faith to get involved in lobbying efforts against capital punishment and to discuss the issue in their parishes and with family members.

As many state legislatures consider restrictive abortion measures in current legislative sessions, the Catholic conferences in these states are paying close attention to these bills and urging Catholics to advocate for them.

As regulations differ across the country about face mask requirements in schools, some Catholic diocesan school officials have stepped in to provide guidance for faculty, parents and students.

Justice Stephen Breyer is planning to retire at the end of the court's term, according to a report first announced by NBC News.

Supreme Court justices Jan. 18 seemed to side with a Christian group that was excluded from flying its flag with an image of a cross on it outside of Boston's City Hall.

The Supreme Court announced that it would hear an appeal from a former high school football coach in Washington state who says his rights to freedom of speech and religion were violated when he was fired in 2015 for praying on the football field.

The Supreme Court blocked a rule by the Biden administration that would have required employees at large businesses to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or wear masks and get tested each week for the coronavirus.

The majority of Supreme Court justices on Jan. 7 questioned the Biden administration's requirement that large businesses need their employees to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or be tested.

In response to the current spike in COVID-19 cases across the United States due to the omicron variant, many colleges and universities have changed plans for the spring semester, making much of January a back-to-virtual learning experience.

This past year was busy for the nation's high court, particularly with issues of interest to Catholics regarding abortion, religious liberty, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the death penalty.

After the election of Joe Biden as the second Catholic president of the United States, U.S. bishops planned a document broadly seen as an attempt to deny Communion to the pro-choice politician. The resulting document "endeavors to explain the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the church."

For next year's spring semester, some Catholic colleges are joining other colleges across the country in requiring students to receive COVID-19 vaccine booster shots.

The Supreme Court turned down emergency requests from New York health care workers seeking a religious exemption from the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its health care employees.

 The Supreme Court said that clinics can continue to challenge a Texas law that bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy but in the meantime the law would remain in effect.

 The Supreme Court's last case of the year looked at when death-row inmates can raise claims that they were given ineffective counsel.