SAO PAULO, Brazil – Tens of thousands of Brazilian Catholics did something different during the four days of Carnival. While their counterparts danced in the streets to the latest samba rhythm, these Catholics attended spiritual retreats.Read More
VATICAN CITY – Even Catholic families in Romania and Moldova are falling victim “to the plagues of abortion, corruption, alcoholism and drug addiction, as well as birth control using methods contrary to the dignity of the human person,” Pope Benedict XVI said.Read More
METUCHEN, N.J. – The sainthood cause has formally opened for Maria Esperanza Medrano de Bianchini, a Venezuelan woman believed to have seen 31 apparitions of Mary who spread worldwide a message of family reconciliation and fraternal unity that she said Mary relayed to her.Read More
LIMA, Peru – When a magnitude 8 earthquake crumbled houses and toppled churches in Pisco in August 2007, millions of dollars’ worth of aid poured into Peru from around the world.Read More
VATICAN CITY – Catholic teaching and the truths of the Gospel have a right to be heard in public debate, especially in a country where so many people claim to be Christian, Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops of England and Wales.Read More
WASHINGTON – Under a new U.S. tax law, people who have donated to charities providing relief to Haitians since the Jan. 12 earthquake can take a tax deduction for the contribution on their 2009 tax return instead of their 2010 return.Read More
Heidi Montag has given new meaning to the concept of one-stop shopping. The 23-year-old reality TV star – one of those who is famous for being famous – underwent 10 plastic-surgery procedures in one day, as pin pointed in People magazine and now scrutinized online.Read More
WASHINGTON – Despite overcast skies, the mood at the Jan. 22 annual March for Life in Washington was decidedly upbeat as speaker after speaker urged the crowd to keep up their efforts in the pro-life arena.Read More
Whether it’s monitoring the behavior of penguins, prairie dogs and chimps or getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse of food preparation for elephants, summer campers are in for hands-on learning at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.Read More
SYDNEY, Australia – In what is often seen as one of the most intensely secular nations in the world, Australia received a wake-up call: the faith of the church on public display over the weeklong celebrations of World Youth Day.Read More
HYDES – Nineteen parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore adopt sister faith communities in the Diocese of Gonaives in Haiti, to the north of Port-au-Prince.Read More
From time to time, I will invite guest columnists to share their “Thoughts on our Church.” I would be especially anxious to introduce members of our Archdiocesan staff, given the extraordinary expertise they offer me and all our archdiocesan agencies.Read More