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VATICAN CITY – On the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq, three U.S. Catholic peace activists paid a discreet but significant visit to the Vatican. The officers of the Indiana-based Catholic Peace Fellowship were in Rome in mid-March to promote the issue of conscientious objection to war. They didn’t know what kind of reception they’d get from Vatican experts, but after a week of talks and meetings, they left feeling like they’d received a sympathetic hearing. “It’s been a miraculous trip,” said Joshua Casteel. “We’ve received great support and open ears here. It’s encouraging to see that we are part of a tradition that’s very sensitive to peace issues.”

VATICAN CITY – In the first two years of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has focused on strengthening Christian values in a world disoriented by indifference, relativism and increasing secularism, said a top Vatican official. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, made the comments in Milan, Italy, March 20 in a speech to Ethics and Finance, an Italian association of business people. The cardinal said Pope Benedict’s overall goal is to reclaim the authentic Christian identity as understood by the faithful and practiced in the world.

PHOENIX – Nearly two years after parishes in the Phoenix Diocese were asked to restore the order of the sacraments of initiation and begin confirming third-graders before they receive the Eucharist, students, families and parish leaders are still adjusting. Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said the restored order “has gone remarkably well,” thanks to everyone working together. He detailed the reasoning for the changes in a 2005 pastoral letter. Restoring the order means that, after being baptized, young Catholics are next confirmed and then, at the same Mass, receive first Communion.

Philip J. Forte will step down at the end of the current school year as principal of The Cardinal Gibbons School in Baltimore to take on the newly created position of director of Lasallian mission. The school has begun a search for a new principal. Brother Kevin Strong, F.S.C., president of the all-boys middle and high school, announced the change in a Feb. 22 letter to parents and alumni. The new role will focus on helping students understand the charism of the Christian Brothers, a religious teaching order founded in France by St. John Baptist de La Salle.

Although St. Rita School, Dundalk, has officially closed, a day of events is being planned to recognize eight decades of quality Catholic education. Alumni, former teachers, school parents and the community are invited to visit the school May 19, 2-5 p.m., to take part in the celebration of its rich history. Classrooms will be opened once again to display 80 years of memorabilia and photos; later that evening the items will be auctioned.

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo urged Zimbabweans to continue their protests against government oppression and said he was willing to risk his life by leading them. “We must be ready to stand, even in front of blazing guns,” Archbishop Ncube said at a March 22 news conference in the capital, Harare. “I am ready to stand in front,” he told the news conference, organized by the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance.

VATICAN CITY – Church leaders, along with the World Health Organization, have expressed concern over the increased rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis worldwide. Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at his general audience March 21, said the latest reports show that more work is still needed to effectively treat those who suffer from the disease. World Tuberculosis Day, a WHO-sponsored initiative to focus attention on one of the world’s most deadly diseases, was being marked March 24. A WHO statement issued March 22 had good news and bad news: The rate of infection leveled off for the first time in 13 years, but new and potentially more lethal versions of the disease have emerged.

ST. PAUL. Minn. – Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis said he barred celebration of Mass at a national meeting on homosexuality and Catholicism because the sponsoring organization dissents from aspects of church teaching. People with homosexual orientation “are children of God, not outcasts,” but the truths of the Catholic Church need to be respected, he said in a March 19 statement given to The Catholic Spirit, archdiocesan newspaper.

Parishioners throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore will have an opportunity to participate in a 120-year-old tradition when the second collection basket comes their way Good Friday (April 6). As it has for more than a century, the Good Friday collection will help the church persevere in the Holy Land. The need for support for the Holy Land is just as urgent as it was when Pope Leo XIII established the annual Pontifical Collection in 1887, according to Holy Land Franciscans in Washington, D.C.

A funeral Mass for Baltimore native Brother John Edward Fick, S.M., was held March 22 at St. Joseph, Sykesville. He died March 10 at Mercy-Siena Woods Retirement Community in Dayton, Ohio. He was 90.