The requirement to participate in a March 15 commencement of a Catholic Charities program was to stay out of prison for two years. But for the 23 graduates of the Baltimore-based Maryland Re-entry Partnership, the ceremony celebrated a new outlook on life. “If you told me three years ago I wouldn’t be back in prison...Read More

Fort McHenry, a historic American landmark, was once again the scene of a patriotic celebration.Read More

Marianne Seibel always knew the last show she ever did at St. Agnes School, Catonsville, would be “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen. After 14 years of rehearsing with young actors, the Sacred Heart, Glyndon, parishioner is closing the curtain on her directing. The final play will be performed April 2-3 at St....Read More

MANILA, Philippines – The president of the Philippine bishops’ conference said the church was open to dialogue with President Benigno Aquino III about his proposal to distribute contraceptives but said the plan could be considered an “accessory” to abortion.Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Pope Benedict XVI’s top diplomat at the United Nations said the Vatican wants to normalize relations with China, which it sees as a major way of advancing religious freedom and fostering unity among Chinese Catholics. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s U.N. nuncio, expressed hope that a papal letter to Chinese Catholics to...Read More

WASHINGTON – One hundred years and a day after the founding of the national organization that became Catholic Charities USA, its president called for “21st-century solutions to 21st-century problems” and said keeping track of how many people are fed or given shelter for a night is no longer enough.Read More

RIVERVIEW, Mich. – There’s an alternative to fish for some Michigan Catholics abstaining from meat on Fridays in Lent – muskrat. The custom of eating muskrat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays in Lent apparently goes back to the early 1800s, the time of Father Gabriel Richard, an early missionary in Michigan whose flock included French-Canadian...Read More

So what do Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu and Despina Siskos have in common? They both discovered that unconditional love is the way to joy.Read More