When W. Gregory Halpin retired as the administrator of the Maryland Port Administration in 1985, he had amassed quite a collection of adventures. During his time leading the agency, he oversaw the construction of the World Trade Center in Baltimore. His work took him to far-flung corners of the world like Brussels, Tokyo, Hong Kong,...Read More
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The U.S. bishops and Catholic Charities USA have called for an increase in the federal minimum wage. “The minimum wage needs to be raised not just for the goods and services a person can buy but for the self-esteem and self-worth it affords,” said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., chairman of...Read More
The large gymnasium stage at Sacred Heart, Glyndon, was draped with red, green, blue, black and yellow streamers Jan. 5, while Olympic rings hung on the wall and some 120 balloons scattered the floor. The planning group for the Olympic themed lock-in, Katie Beinstein, Mary Bosley, Haley and Allison Boyd and Joe Miller, had worked...Read More
The administration of Calvert Hall College High School, Towson, after meeting with Coach Jay Robinson, announced that the school is seeking a new head coach for the 2007 football season. The school’s administration offered this statement: “We thank Jay for his integrity, dedication and hard work throughout the past eight years. Jay has been invited...Read More
Henry Fortier calls it one of the “most painful” days in his life. After several years as principal of New All Saints School in West Baltimore – a time marked by increasing test scores and steady improvement in student performance – Mr. Fortier had to tell his students their school was closing. “It was devastating,”...Read More
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The recent announcement by scientists at Wake Forest and Harvard universities that the amniotic fluid surrounding a child in the womb can be the source of medically useful stem cells is just the latest in a series of studies showing the research value of the byproducts of live birth, according to the...Read More
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The fallout from the resignation of Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus continued, with revelations about his role as an informant for former secret police, warnings about new disclosures to come and the resignation of a leading churchman in Krakow, Poland. Pope Benedict XVI accepted Archbishop Wielgus’ resignation Jan. 7, just two days...Read More
As a way of honoring slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., black Baltimore Catholics are urging people to improve themselves and to give of themselves at two events at the St. Frances Academy Community Center. St. Frances Academy is hosting its 5th Annual Martin Luther King Day Job Fair from 8 a.m....Read More
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While he has said for years that terrorists were hiding out in Somalia, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Mogadishu said more U.S. airstrikes would only make things worse. Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, who also oversees the church in Somalia’s chaotic and violent capital, spoke to the Vatican’s Fides...Read More
What does the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex 20:13) mean for us today? In 1972 the supreme court opened the door to states to rewrite death penalty statutes to eliminate the problems cited in Furman v Georgia that is; punishment would be “cruel and unusual” if it was too severe for the crime, if...Read More
The piano Jeff Bunn has been using for music instruction at Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Middle River has seen better days. Now more than 35 years old, the well-used instrument is out of tune and long overdue for retirement. That’s why Mr. Bunn couldn’t be more elated that not one, but...Read More
Standing next to toppled plastic figures of St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin Mary and assorted sheep, Loretta Hoffman shook her head sadly and pointed to an empty manger flipped on its side by vandals. “That’s where the baby Jesus was,” she said, noting that her husband, Gil, had secured the figure with wires to prevent...Read More