I completely agree with Monsignor Damien Nalepa (CR, May 20) in which he states “Half of the guns turned in were lethal weapons capable of great harm.” In the city of Newark, N.J., violent deaths caused by guns have decreased over 60 percent, because of the gun buy-back. We are committed to the sanctity of...Read More

Praising the recommendation by a New Jersey panel to abolish the death penalty in favor of life imprisonment without parole in New Jersey, Richard J. Dowling, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, said it could serve as a “model” for Maryland. The New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission, created in 2005, submitted its findings...Read More

Wearing a black tattered coat, gloves with a hole in the left palm and a knit skull cap, a homeless woman calling herself Miss L.A. shed a tear as Baltimore City political leaders called out the names of her fellow street dwellers who died in the past year. The 16th Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service held...Read More

Nearly two months after succeeding the late Archbishop William D. Borders as the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s oldest priest, Father E. Gerard Huesman died June 7. The former pastor and longtime hospital chaplain was 95.Read More

MIAMI - The deluge let up just as the festivities began. Two hours later, Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski emerged from St. Mary Cathedral into bright sunlight, having officially been installed as Miami’s fourth archbishop.Read More

Maryland Gov.-elect Martin O’Malley heads the list of participants expected at the 14th Annual New Year’s Eve Interfaith Service at St. Ignatius, Baltimore, Dec. 31. The traditional Jewish, Christian and Muslim interfaith service will begin at 8 p.m. with a 30-minute musical program, followed by prayers for blessings in the New Year.Read More

Buoyed by Pope Benedict XVI's successful visit to Turkey, Vatican officials began trying to gauge its long-term effect on ecumenical and Catholic-Muslim dialogue in other parts of the world. Would the rave reviews and upbeat headlines carry over into coming weeks and months? And in the case of Islam, would the pope's outreach to a...Read More

Occasionally, a guest contribution occupies this space. A recent column by Kenneth L. Woodward in the weekly Commonweal struck me as timely and insightful. Given its length, the second part of the article will appear next week.Read More