HAGERSTOWN – Balancing a shiny brass tuba on his thigh, Father Kevin Mueller took a deep breath and pumped a lungful of air into the slightly-dented instrument. At the priest’s command, the tuba sprang to life – filling his rectory office with deeply resonant, low-pitched oom-pahs that flew out of the big horn at a...Read More

BETHLEHEM, West Bank – With five new hotels in the works, a handful of new souvenir shops opening recently and nearly 40 restaurants able to serve crowds from 100 to 1,000, the Bethlehem economy is showing signs of recovery following the desperate intifada years.Read More

UPDATED SAO PAULO, Brazil – Pope Benedict XVI’s comments on excommunication for pro-abortion Catholic politicians touched on huge and sensitive issues – so sensitive that the Vatican issued a toned-down version of his remarks the following day. Speaking with journalists on the plane taking him to Brazil May 9, the pope left the impression that...Read More

Kelly, 37, who lives in Rosedale and has four children, had always taken pride in her self-sufficiency.Read More

Father Kolbe School in Canton has always had a strong affiliation with neighboring St. Casimir Church, and beginning with the 2008-09 school year, the two will become even closer as St. Casimir assumes leadership of the 186-student pre-K-8 school. Although the decision represents a major financial and spiritual undertaking for the 650-family faith community, pastor...Read More

VATICAN CITY – A spate of U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks portray the Vatican as horrified over clerical sex abuse in Ireland but also deeply concerned that the procedures used by Irish investigators of the scandal were “an affront to Vatican sovereignty.”Read More

WASHINGTON – The Anti-Defamation League and a variety of Catholic and Jewish leaders honored Eugene J. Fisher as he approached retirement after 30 years as one of the world’s leading advocates of better Catholic-Jewish relations. Since 1977 Mr. Fisher has been associate director for Catholic-Jewish relations at the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of...Read More

Funny how a single picture can change everything.Read More