Being known as the “Poster Child of Smoke-Free Maryland” may have shined the political spotlight on Baltimore City Council Vice President Robert Curran, but the St. Francis of Assisi, Baltimore, parishioner doesn’t believe his successful push for city- and state-wide smoking bans is his greatest accomplishment as a public servant. Leading the charge to help...Read More

VATICAN CITY – The survival of the Christian communities of the Middle East is threatened not only by violence and political repression, but also by the churches’ weakened sense of mission, failure to work ecumenically and loss of their traditional liturgical heritage, bishops told the special synod for the Middle East.Read More

LONDON – A revised code of ethics will prevent doctors from providing contraceptives and abortion referrals at a London Catholic hospital popular with celebrity mothers. The finalized code, which is expected to be passed by the hospital board May 16, will encompass all staff and resident practitioners at the Hospital of St. John and St....Read More

Nineteen-month-old Mason Shaffer has no qualms about somersaulting off a couch in his family’s Pennsylvania home. He’s equally fearless when exploring new surroundings or playing a spirited round of peek-a-boo with his mother.Read More

All it takes to make Maureen Cannon cry is a good country or love song, especially “if I couple it with another situation going on in my life,” said the St. Francis Xavier, Hunt Valley, parishioner. “I think it’s extremely therapeutic to cry. Once I’ve cried, I have a better perspective and outlook on a...Read More

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations must fulfill its responsibilities to address extreme poverty, said the Vatican’s new representative to the United Nations.Read More

The Monsignor O’Dwyer Retreat House, Sparks, was awarded $7,500 from the Koch Foundation in Florida to support 60 confirmation retreats for parish religious education programs. In turn, the retreat house awarded 20 retreats (an overnight stay and two meals) each to three parishes demonstrating a financial need: Our Lady of Hope, Dundalk; St. Bernardine, Baltimore;...Read More

DETROIT – As more than 1,200 business, academic and government leaders from 25 countries gathered in Detroit for the World Stem Cell Summit, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit said research that destroys human embryos “deserves our scrutiny and scorn.”Read More