WASHINGTON (CNS) – A church aid worker in Darfur said 2006 was tough for humanitarian workers but noted that the United States and United Nations have increased their efforts in the western Sudanese region. Mark Snyder, head of the North Sudan program for Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ international aid and development agency, said...Read More

CHICAGO - As temperatures climbed and most schools closed for the summer, church leaders called on their congregations to step forward and protect young people from the violence that often seems pervasive in Chicago.Read More

WASHINGTON – Although Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a bill that would have required women to have an ultrasound before a first-trimester abortion, similar legislation is having more success in other states.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

Aaron Wiggins may be homeless, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t interested in discussing current events. Mr. Wiggins is among the six to 10 individuals who come weekly to St. Vincent de Paul’s Beans & Bread Outreach Center in Fells Point, ready to discuss the issues of the day. “A lot of the missions and...Read More

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – The sound of vuvuzelas made for a sleepless night for Rustenburg’s bishop as soccer fans watched, then celebrated the U.S.-England tie, and a Detroit-born priest now working in rural South Africa cheered the U.S. performance.Read More

VATICAN CITY – Meeting with nearly 10,000 priests from around the world, Pope Benedict XVI expressed the church’s gratitude for their ministry and encouraged them to resist secularizing influences.Read More

Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore condemned "revisionist history" of the Holocaust, the systematic efforts by Nazis during World War II to do away with Jews also known as the Shoah, a Hebrew word meaning devastation or catastrophe. The cardinal took particular exception to a Dec. 11-12 conference in Iran during which speakers "sought to...Read More