VATICAN CITY – Pope John Paul II’s tomb was opened and his casket removed in preparation for veneration after his beatification May 1.Read More

VATICAN CITY – The city of Rome launched beefed-up security measures in the days before the May 1 beatification of Pope John Paul II. Officers were even brushing up on their English to better help the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims expected for the event.Read More

William Donald Schaefer made the rounds in Baltimore City for the last time April 25, when a number of Baltimore pastors made it a point to be outside the Basilica on Cathedral Street, when a touring motorcade stopped for a brief blessing and prayer from Bishop Denis J. Madden (see photo below).  Monsignor Ed Miller, the pastor...Read More

A funeral Mass for Thomas L. Keeler, brother of Cardinal William H. Keeler, retired Archbishop of Baltimore, was to be offered April 26 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.Read More

I was lucky enough to win the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association Award for Best Blog last week. It’s the second time in three years I’ve received the honor, but the first since I re-booted the blog last November. The judges said, “This is everything you want in a blog – concise writing; catchy nontraditional...Read More

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeO1Wnvv-1s] A film about a newly elected pope overwhelmed by his responsibilies is a hit in Italy, but drawing a mixed response from Catholic leaders. The Associated Press has the story: Director Nanni Moretti’s movie about a panic-stricken pope who can’t cope with the enormity of his task is a hit across Italy. Within the...Read More

A couple of weeks ago my three-year-old niece, Molly, told my mother and me that she had a bad dream. She wouldn’t elaborate, simply because she told me I was in the nightmare. Once she got through the sheepishness, she shared that she figured out who was responsible giving her those night terrors. She raised...Read More

The fundamental challenge in balancing the federal budget is preserving the nation’s economic strengths and core values. The measure of their success in maintaining the nation’s priorities will not be known for years to come. As a result, some may be tempted to ignore long-term consequences for immediate budget relief, a mistake the nation cannot...Read More