Contrary to recent comments that question whether a health care public option can reduce or eliminate competition, the opposite is obvious fact. Who controls compensation for physicians? Carefirst Blueshield Bluecross and United Healthcare control 80 to 85 percent of the market. Their premium structure is forcing doctors out of Maryland. Small businesses are dropping or...Read More

Referring to “Wanted: 93,000 Bricks” (CR, Oct. 22, 2009) by Sister Mary Alice Chineworth, O.S.P., Dr. Ronald Valenti , archdiocesan schools chief, reminded students of the service and ministry of the Oblate Sisters of Providence for more than 180 years to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The article described the Oblates’ need for a building in...Read More

WASHINGTON – By refusing to allow residents of the District of Columbia to vote on same-sex marriage, a district board is undermining religious freedom and promoting “partisan paternalism under the guise of righteousness,” according to an analysis by the Archdiocese of Washington.Read More

I have some problems with George Weigel’s (CR, Jan. 21) expressions of concern about the daily Prayer of the Faithful. If is he so attuned to the words that he sees the omissions and commissions, he is missing the spirit of the prayer. I don’t disagree with any of the prayers he proposes, but I...Read More

Many Americans are confused about the disaster in Haiti and where the millions of dollars being sent are going, in particular the vast sums of money contributed to Catholic Relief Services.Read More

Father Joseph Breighner, you wrote (CR, Jan. 21) about your difficulty finding the unmarked Social Security office on West Street in Towson and then having to wait two hours in that office before being told that they couldn’t wait on you. You mentioned that a funeral home and two auto dealerships nearby had clearly visible...Read More

My reaction after reading Tony Magliano’s article on the environment (CR, Jan. 21) was regret for sending money to Catholic Relief Services for Haiti relief. If CRS uses their funds lobbying for theft based on climate change, they are harming the poor.Read More

Was 2009 a turning point for the American bishops, marking a tougher and more realistic approach on their part to the myriad problems, internal and external, besetting the Catholic Church in the United States? It’s too soon for final conclusions, but, on the evidence, history may judge the year just past in exactly those terms.Read More