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WASHINGTON – At the National Prayer Breakfast Feb. 1, President George W. Bush cited a Pennsylvania Catholic teenager who started an outreach to poor and homeless people in memory of her favorite priest, the late Franciscan Father Mychal Judge.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas priest accused of attempted murder and sexual assault on a parish employee was captured near Phoenix Feb. 1 after a six-day manhunt across several states. Father George Chaanine, 52, has been charged with attempted murder with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, kidnapping and other charges in connection with an alleged attack Jan. 26 on Michaelina Bellamy, an employee at Our Lady of Las Vegas Parish where Father Chaanine was administrator. He also faces federal charges of fleeing to avoid prosecution.

“Bishops Address Public Policy” (CR, Jan 25) is among a number of articles that distort the real issues. These articles tout “earned legalization,” the “death” of illegal aliens attempting to enter our country and sending the wrong signal to the international community. These one-sided articles distorted the total picture of illegal aliens. It failed to mention the death and violence committed by illegal aliens who are currently in prison today convicted of murder, rape, etc. against U.S. citizens, the negative impact illegal aliens have on our citizen’s job opportunities, schools, health care, and other social programs.

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 any point in her pregnancy. It also removed the abortion debate from the public forum. Fast-forward to Jan. 22, 2007. On that day more than 100,000 people went to Washington in the cold and snow to give a voice to the voiceless in the annual March for Life.

Maryland Catholics are urged to rally at Lobby Night in Annapolis Feb., 19, Presidents’ Day, to learn about important public-policy initiatives and meet their elected state officials. The 23rd annual Lobby Night, sponsored by the Maryland Catholic Conference, will begin at 3 p.m. at St. Mary’s School, Marian Hall, with issue briefings. The briefings will also be offered in special sessions for youths and Spanish-speaking constituents. They will acquaint participants with proposals on the following:

The average wedding favor costs about $6, said Anne Berman, a special events and wedding planner in Baltimore. It doesn’t seem like much, but multiply that by 200 guests and it is a lot of money. This is why many couples choose to get the most for their money when purchasing favors. Some couples give guests chocolate in a personalized wrapper. Others add a special touch with fresh-baked cookies wrapped in decorative paper.

Single people who plan to marry in the Catholic church are required to attend a marriage preparation program in some form, whether participating in an organized program through a parish or in another arrangement that their priest deems appropriate to cover “the five Cs” of marriage preparation: community, conflict resolution, commitment, children and church.

Will de Rosset hasn’t had a weekend off in a very long time. The full-time disc jockey is busy on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays making sure guests are enjoying the music at the weddings he services weekly.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – A strike by doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe is causing “untold human suffering and loss of life,” said the country’s Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. Sick and injured people are turned away from the main state hospitals “and their only other option is to go to private hospitals, which is unaffordable for most Zimbabweans,” Alouis Chaumba, who heads the commission, said in a Jan. 28 telephone interview from the capital, Harare.