VATICAN CITY – A small cadre of men wearing sleek, dark blue suits and red ties with thin, yellow stripes keep their eyes on pilgrims streaming through St. Peter’s Basilica. The men, who help maintain order and decorum in the basilica, especially during papal ceremonies, are local volunteers for a charitable organization whose history is...Read More

WASHINGTON – Three themes run through black America, according to the Rev. Robert Franklin: celebration of heroic individual and collective achievement; closure of persistent racial gaps in such areas as education and health; and anxiety about losing ground and “mobilizing to reverse negative trend lines.” Rev. Franklin, author of the new book “Crisis in the...Read More

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Diocese has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to handle more than 140 clergy sexual abuse claims equitably. It is the fifth and largest U.S. diocese to do so since 2004. San Diego Bishop Robert H. Brom announced the decision Feb. 27, the day before the first abuse lawsuit...Read More

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy – Pope Benedict XVI offered his prayers for the 33 men trapped underground in a gold and copper mine in Chile.Read More

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaskans passed a ballot initiative Aug. 24 that requires abortionists to notify a parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl in Alaska.Read More

OXFORD, England – Pope Benedict XVI expressed support for an archbishop who resigned because of links to communist-era secret police. “I would like, above all, to offer words of encouragement, inviting you to stride forward with confidence and peace in your heart,” Pope Benedict said in a letter to former Warsaw Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus. “I...Read More

It is hoop-heaven this coming week as the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association will wrap-up their boys’ basketball tourney Feb. 23 with the A Conference tipping off at 7 p.m. at Gilman School, Baltimore, while the B and C Conference finals will begin at 6:30 p.m. at The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Log on to the...Read More

Joann Phillips is preparing for the Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield Half-Marathon at the Oct. 16 Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival. Covering 13.1 miles when it’s been over 20 years since she last raced as long as 6.2 seems like a daunting task – until it’s weighed alongside the courage of the daughter who...Read More