Page 1765 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

About 170 students from Xavier University of Louisiana were among thousands from across the country who converged on Jena, La., Sept. 20 for a rally protesting what they believe were excessive charges filed against six black Jena High School students for beating a white classmate last December.

Outsourcing makes enslaving workers easier

Around the world, men, women and children are drawn into forced labor, harvesting cacao in the Ivory Coast and sugar cane in Brazil, cutting timber in Peru, as sex workers in Europe and the United States, and as domestic workers in India.

Episcopal bishop is expected to become Catholic

Saying that“an effective leader cannot be so conflicted about the guiding principles of the church he serves, the Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande announced in a Sept. 21 letter that he intended to ask his fellow bishops for permission to resign

Brazilian man recalls odyssey of slavery and escape

Antonio Gomes dos Santos remembers the day, 11 years ago, when he was sold for the equivalent of about $80.

Catholic Charities delegates discuss poverty, racism

CINCINNATI – Singing “This Little Light of Mine” and walking across a Civil War-era suspension bridge from Covington, Ky., to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati Sept. 15, about 500 participants at the annual Catholic Charities USA convention demonstrated their desire to lead the way out of poverty and racism.

Vatican dismisses English woman’s Marian claims

LONDON – The Vatican has dismissed the claims of a woman in England who says Mary has visited her outside her home for more than 20 years. Ruling that her claims are “highly questionable,” the Vatican also has refused to approve the statutes of the community she founded.

Tony Blair to be speaker at annual Al Smith dinner

NEW YORK – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the 62nd Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner Oct. 18 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper, reported recently that Blair had accepted Cardinal Edward M. Egan’s invitation to speak.

Outpouring after tragedies helps communities heal

When the unthinkable happens, people of faith are called to respond. In the Archdiocese of Baltimore, that response has proven to be swift and compassionate in the wake of three recent tragedies, with individuals offering prayers, schools activating crisis management plans and parishes reaching out to families.

Sister Helen Prejean calls on Md. to end death penalty

Standing beneath a large crucifix in the sanctuary of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge, Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., stretched out her arms and intently fixed her gaze on the hundreds of people who filled the pews Sept. 20.

Cardinal Keeler celebrates final public Mass

A few years ago, Dana Brower wasn’t sure if her son, Jonathan, would graduate from Calvert Hall College High School in Towson. Facing serious financial difficulties, the family didn’t have a way to pay tuition, she said. So Mrs. Brower met personally with Cardinal William H. Keeler and told him of her plight. Through his intercession, Jonathan graduated from Calvert Hall and is now a freshman history major at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Stitz looks for more as Friars lack fire

The defending MIAA A Conference soccer champs, the Archbishop Curley High School Friars, kicked their 2007 season off on Aug. 31 with a 5-0 win over Bullis School to open the Adidas Soccer Challenge. From there, the Baltimore school’s Friars reeled off an impressive 10-0 overall record going into the Sept. 19 Alumni Cup against MIAA A Conference opponent Calvert Hall College High School, Towson.

U.S. has moral obligation to Iraqi people