BRAINTREE -- The archdiocesan Initiative for Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning is preparing to hold its fourth annual Palliative Care Colloquium in April. The topic of this year's colloquium is "Moral Distress on Both Sides of the Bedrail: Always Wanting to Do 'The Right Thing.'"

PEABODY -- The Board of Trustees of Bishop Fenwick High School announced March 20 that it has selected Thomas E. Nunan, Jr. to serve as the school's first president, effective July 1. Nunan brings to Fenwick 34 years of Catholic school experience and leadership, most recently as the founding head of school at St. Joseph Preparatory High School in Boston. There, Nunan was central in creating a vibrant school culture from two existing schools while assembling an exemplary faculty and staff, developing a rigorous and responsive curriculum, and providing opportunities for students' intellectual, personal, moral, and spiritual growth.

[This is the fifth in a series of articles profiling each of the 13 men who will be ordained to the priesthood on May 18.] CHESTNUT HILL -- For Deacon Joseph Almeida, his journey to the priesthood has its roots in his relationship with the Virgin Mary.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (CNS) -- The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston "strongly and unconditionally" rejects the state attorney general's assertion that "the diocese is not wholly committed to the protection of children."

BISMARCK, N.D. (CNS) -- Defending our Catholic beliefs is important, but Catholic discipleship also is "about advancing the Gospel, not merely sustaining or protecting it," Philadelphia's archbishop said in an evening keynote address at the University of Mary in Bismarck March 20.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After floodwaters ravaged much of Nebraska, ironically one thing some people needed most was clean water. The town of Peru, home to 1,000 residents alongside the Missouri River, had a drinking water shortage for several days after the town's water treatment plant was flooded.

Lexington, Ky. (CNA) -- A judge blocked a Kentucky law that would prohibit abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, in the latest setback in efforts to expand abortion restrictions in the United States.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- One of the commissioners of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission called Jack Phillips' religious freedom a sham, a "despicable piece of rhetoric" simply meant to conceal prejudices.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At a time when Catholics seem to be split between conservative or progressive factions, the life and works of English writer G. K. Chesterton can inspire men and women in the church to rise above conflict, said U.S. scholar Dale Ahlquist.

MONTREAL (CNS) -- Father Claude Grou, rector of St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, was stabbed during a Mass March 22. The motive for the attack remains unknown. He was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition, said a statement from the Archdiocese of Montreal.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of an Italian missionary killed in Myanmar and seven Romanian Catholic bishops -- one of whom was secretly named a cardinal by St. Paul VI -- persecuted during the communist era.