LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (CNS) -- The question made Duane Olberding laugh: Are you as jolly as Old St. Nick? "I don't know about being as jolly as Old St. Nick, but I do enjoy helping people get a nice Christmas tree," said Olberding, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Leavenworth. Olberding, who recently retired as...Read More

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

Currently posting a record of 4-2-1, the Archbishop Curley, Baltimore, Friars are turning their ice hockey program around. With only two wins on the books in 2005, the team is beginning to believe in themselves. This recent team confidence played out in a preseason tournament title win in Frederick, Maryland. “I thought they won the...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

Maryland citizens may drive by walls, buildings, bridges and other graffiti-covered structures every day and not think twice about the spray-painted messages. But for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, “the graffiti is on the wall” when it comes to area gangs.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

EPHESUS, Turkey (CNS) -- Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims began making pilgrimages to the House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus only after a bedridden, almost illiterate German nun had a vision of the house's location.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