LONDON – Spokesmen for the Vatican and the Catholic Church in England worked to downplay remarks by a former Vatican official who compared Britain to a “Third World country” in the grip of a “new and aggressive atheism.”Read More

It’s what Father John Swope refers to as “college prep with a kick.” That is Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Baltimore, where approximately 120 ninth graders literally will earn their education starting in the fall of 2007. The school will add a new class each year until it reaches a maximum capacity of 500. To...Read More

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI will canonize a Brazilian Franciscan during his May trip to Brazil and will declare four other new saints in June. During a prayer service in the Apostolic Palace Feb. 23, the pope set May 11 as the date for the canonization of Blessed Antonio Galvao, an 18th-century Franciscan and...Read More

WASHINGTON – Shortly before the pastor of a small Florida Pentecostal church appeared to back down from plans to burn the Quran on Sept. 11, the chairmen of three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops joined in condemnation of any acts of religious intolerance.Read More

As part of the global nursing program at College of Notre Dame of Maryland, 15 registered nurses will bring their medical expertise to Tanzania Oct. 5-19 – providing hands-on assistance while learning about key health care concerns in the East African nation.Read More

Mary Ellen Russell, deputy directory for education and family life with the Maryland Catholic Conference, called on state lawmakers to pass a bill that would require nonpublic school administrators to be informed when one of their students has been arrested for a violent or sexual crime and when such a student from another school transfers...Read More

There are few topics that will ignite tempers like religious beliefs, but a panel of spiritual leaders representing Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus and Muslims challenged about 75 people at St. Ignatius, Baltimore, to read the holy books of faiths other than their own. Ignorance of religious beliefs has not only created friction among neighbors throughout...Read More

It’s possible that you never knew that Olive Murdy lived. When she died this past July she had no “celebrity” obituary.Read More