In “Archbishop on marriage, ‘Maryland is not N.Y.’” (CR, Aug. 11), the battle between Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien and Gov. Martin J. O’Malley over the so-called “gay marriage” bill was lost long before the bill ever arrived on the governor’s desk. The well-educated governor playing the conscience card to justify a clear mistake in judgment...Read More

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI said his trip to Africa would be a missionary journey highlighting the continent’s challenges, its enormous potential and its “profound religious soul.”Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the wake of the revolution that toppled Egypt’s authoritarian government last winter, the country’s Christians remain fearful, yet hopeful, said Cardinal Antonios Naguib, patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church.Read More

Monsignor Stuart Swetland, the vice president for Catholic identity and mission at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, will present a lecture on the “The Catholic Virtue of Patriotism: Being an Authentic Catholic and a True Citizen during Difficult Times,” at St. Ignatius in Hickory March 19 at 7:30 p.m.Read More

MADRID – Mike Dill took notes as he stood outside San Nicolas de los Servitas Church – the oldest church in Madrid and likely one of the places around the Spanish capital that the Albany, N.Y., resident will guide World Youth Day pilgrims.Read More

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has joined a broad group of religious, justice, and relief and development organizations in calling upon President Barack Obama to assist and protect vulnerable Iraqis and pursue efforts that lead to long-term development in war-torn Iraq.Read More

DADAAB, Kenya – It took 32 days for Fatima Mohammed to make it from her drought-racked farm in Somalia to the relative safety of a sprawling refugee settlement in northeastern Kenya. There were days, she recalled, when her children were so thirsty that they could not walk and the men in her family would ferry...Read More

WASHINGTON – Colombian community leaders urged President Barack Obama to reform U.S. policy toward Colombia to end the destructive drug trade and more than 40 years of civil war.Read More