The order reestablishes the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a 20-year-old initiative first put in place by President George W. Bush.
In a divided midnight vote Feb. 11, the justices upheld a lower court's ruling that Willie Smith III's pastor should be with him in the execution chamber, which the state opposed.
While much progress still lies ahead, Sister Nathalie Becquart’s appointment as an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops marks an inflection point for women’s leadership in the Catholic Church.