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

William J. McCarthy Jr., the executive director of Catholic Charities of Baltimore, had a most emotional St. Patrick’s Day.Read More

TRENTON, N.J. (CNS) -- Catholic officials have praised the recommendation by a New Jersey panel that the state abolish the death penalty in favor of life imprisonment without parole. The New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission, created in 2005, submitted its findings Jan. 2 to Gov. Jon S. Corzine. In their report commission members said...Read More

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistani Christians said a Catholic businessman imprisoned for life for blasphemy was tortured and murdered and did not die of a heart attack as stated in a medical report.Read More

Dolores Orlando of Towson recently walked into the Catholic Corner Bookstore determined to find specific Christmas cards and a statue of St. Joseph, and looked relieved when she spotted the establishment’s owner, Joan Linz. “Joan, I really need your help,” said Ms. Orlando, an Immaculate Conception, Towson, parishioner. The bookshop keeper, a parishioner of St....Read More

She entered the convent in 1936, taking the train from her hometown of Rock Island, Ill., by way of Chicago. Sister Mary Alice Chineworth walked through the doors of the Oblate Sisters’ motherhouse at age 19 to begin her vocation, 15 years after deciding to dedicate her life to God. Yes, she knew she wanted...Read More

When Peter O’Malley walked into Donna’s Café & Coffee Bar in Mount Vernon on a recent afternoon, the staff was immediately thunderstruck by the 36-year-old’s startling resemblance to his brother, Gov.-elect Martin O’Malley. The Mount Washington resident and Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Homeland, parishioner and the 43-year-old future governor share the same megawatt smile....Read More

WASHINGTON – Catholic and other religious leaders continued to urge members of Congress to remember the needs of the poor while they debate the federal budget.Read More