VATICAN CITY – Rarely is a general audience talk interrupted by spontaneous applause, and Pope Benedict XVI seemed as surprised as anyone when the clapping began in the Vatican’s audience hall. The pope had been talking about the church’s early times, and he set aside his text to drive home a point: The apostles and...Read More
HARTFORD, Conn. – Hartford archdiocesan officials said they were “deeply saddened” by the “profound effect” on a Waterbury parish of the July 6 arrest of its former pastor on charges he stole $1.3 million of the church’s money over a seven-year period.Read More
On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down two decisions that wiped out all existing state laws limiting abortion and made it nearly impossible to enact any new abortion-limiting legislation. Through its decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the Court made abortion available to any woman for any reason at...Read More
There is nothing more exciting than the packed house, overwhelming school spirit and the healthy rivalry between two long-standing Baltimore institutions, The Institute of Notre Dame and Mercy High School. Alumni and basketball enthusiasts alike will gather at the Towson Center, Feb. 2 for the 41st tip-off of “The Game.” Tip-off time is 7:30 p.m....Read More
WASHINGTON – Requiring personnel in military hospitals to perform or participate in abortions would place “a very heavy burden” on those in the armed forces who value human life, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services told U.S. senators.Read More
VATICAN CITY – For the first time in more than five years, the tiny Armenian Catholic community in Iraq has its own archbishop. The Vatican announced Jan. 26 that Pope Benedict XVI had given his assent to the Armenian Catholic bishops’ election of Father Emmanuel Dabbaghian, 73, as the Armenian Catholic archbishop of Baghdad. The...Read More
VATICAN CITY - In a strongly worded statement, the Vatican expressed surprise and indignation at the way Belgian police carried out a raid on the headquarters of the Belgian Catholic Church in connection with an investigation into alleged priestly sex abuse.Read More
Seventh grader Cecelia Cellini was concerned with more than playing during recess one weekday afternoon. Instead, she busily collected students’ signatures who were as frustrated as she with the quality of the computers in their school’s computer lab. The result culminated in a “St. John 2007 Calendar” which has raised more than $10,000 to date...Read More
WASHINGTON – The U.S. bishops publicly expressed their “heartfelt prayers and pastoral solidarity with all those affected by the oil that continues to leak into the Gulf of Mexico.”Read More
Most people instinctively shudder when they learn that human cloning is currently legal in Maryland. But the definition of cloning, and why the church teaches that it is immoral, may not be clear.Read More
Last Thursday, the committee formed to create a strategic plan for the future of Catholic schools, the Blue Ribbon Committee on Catholic Schools, issued to me its 56 recommendations for assuring the long-term sustainability and growth of our Catholic school system.Read More