BOSTON -- In the first ordination ceremony held in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross following major renovations, Cardinal Seán O'Malley ordained 13 men to the priesthood on May 18. The new priests -- making up the largest ordination class for the Archdiocese of Boston in over 20 years -- were Christopher Boyle, Marcos Enrique, Timothy Hynes, Brian O'Hanlon, Mark Olejnik, William Robinson, Corey Rouse, and Paul Wargovich from St. John's Seminary in Brighton; Joseph Almeida, Maciej Araszkiewicz, Przemyslaw Kasprzak, and Victor Vitug from Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary in Brookline; and Corey Bassett-Tirrell from Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston.

I want to begin this week noting that on Tuesday we had our annual Spring Gala to benefit Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston. I was happy that this year they honored the outgoing board chair, Jim Gallagher. He has been a great supporter of Catholic Charities over the years -- and we were pleased that he allowed them to recognize his service at the gala.

BEVERLY ? The Saints Academy took its third annual STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Math) Night, held on May 16, in a different direction than the previous two years. Principal Kelly Fernald said the first time the school held STREAM Night, students hardly left their own classrooms. This year, however, they were encouraged to visit students in other grades as they displayed or gave presentations about projects they had completed.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Five U.S. bishops, chairmen of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' committees or subcommittees, said May 17 they were "gravely disappointed" with the U.S. House of Representatives passage of the Equality Act.

PROVIDENCE (CNS) -- A bill that pro-life legal analysts said would have turned Rhode Island into an "abortion haven" failed to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee May 14. Hundreds of pro-life activists who gathered at the Statehouse erupted into cheers as news spread that the committee voted 5-4 against the Senate version of the bill that supporters claimed would have enshrined Roe v. Wade -- the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide -- into state law.

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Church officials are urging Catholics to continue to oppose a California bill that would force priests to disclose information about child sexual abuse that they hear in the sacrament of confession.