Page 1830 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

WASHINGTON – Jack Valenti, who had overseen the Motion Picture Association of America for almost four decades, was remembered fondly after his April 26 death for his diligence in alerting parents to the content of movies and television programs their children might want to see. Mr. Valenti, a Catholic, died in Washington at his home from complications of a stroke he suffered in March. He was 85 years old. No funeral details were immediately released.

St. Frances Academy makes effort to recruit Hispanics

When the new school year begins in late August, school officials at St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, expect to see a more racially diverse enrollment with the addition of several Hispanic students, ending a two-year interlude with an all-black student body. It’s the first time in its 179-year history that St. Frances Academy officials have actively recruited students, which they did with a concerted effort to enlist Hispanic teens.

Moving forward in faith

A deacon’s son and a graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School, Baltimore, will move closer to their goal of priesthood on May 12 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore, when they are ordained transitional deacons. John Rapisarda, 29, and Ernest Cibelli, 25, will be ordained by Cardinal William H. Keeler, marking the last step before completing their journey to the priesthood next year.

Father Murphy new chaplain at Towson University

Local News, News

After three years at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middle River, Father T. Austin Murphy will be leaving July 1 to become the new chaplain of the Newman Center at Towson University. “As a priest you don’t forget your first parish,” said Father Murphy, 34, who is a graduate of University of Maryland Baltimore County. “I know I will leave with their prayers.” Father Murphy said he has truly enjoyed working with the elementary and high school students and helping with the sacraments.

Basilica museum creates new experience

As the 125 high school girls from the Institute of Notre Dame, Baltimore, recently toured the newly restored Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, they entered a room that features exhibits reflecting the history of Catholicism in the United States. The room in the co-cathedral’s undercroft is designated as the basilica’s museum – a feature that didn’t exist until the completion last fall of the two-year project that restored the 200-year-old Baltimore landmark to the vision of its famed architect, Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

Maryland supported World War II at home and abroad

Memorial Day may be the kick off of the summer season, but for many aging veterans it will be a time to journey to the Maryland World War II Memorial to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice many in the state gave during that conflict. As spectators attend the Memorial Day ceremony at the Ritchie Highway memorial, they will see the names of 6,454 Marylanders who lost their lives in World War II engraved in the monument’s granite, said Cathy Watts, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs. “It’s a moving place,” Ms. Watts said. “It also provides a historical portrait of the role Maryland played in World War II.”

Covering uninsured is year-round job

WASHINGTON – At Cabrini Clinic in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, “every week is Cover the Uninsured Week,” says Mercy Sister Mary Ellen Howard, who has directed the free clinic for more than a dozen years. In a city with some 200,000 uninsured adults, the clinic – formally known as the St. Frances Cabrini Clinic of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church – provides medical care, prescription drug assistance and mental health services to about 150 people a week, completely free of charge.

Beijing bishop given funeral for state leader

BEIJING – The Chinese bishop who served in Beijing for more than 25 years was given a funeral for a state leader. A three-part funeral was held April 27 at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery for Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, 76, who died of lung cancer April 20. The cemetery is the main burial ground for revolutionary heroes and high government officials.

Symposium examines identity, role of Catholic higher education

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Archbishop J. Michael Miller, secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, told a symposium on Catholic higher education that he objected to the “bleaching” of Catholic identity and said some Catholic institutions have “ignored, hidden or lost their ecclesial identity.” To change this course, he said schools should adopt ways to measure their Catholicity that include making sure a majority of faculty members are Catholic and that scholarship and research are in accord with Catholic teaching.

Ukrainian cardinal defends decision to support president

KIEV, Ukraine – The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has defended his decision to support President Viktor Yushchenko’s recent dismissal of parliament, which some argue has deepened a constitutional crisis. “Our declaration didn’t back any party – it merely recalled that the church has not forgotten people, nor has God,” said Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Kiev-Halych, in an April 24 interview with Ukraine’s Fokus weekly.

Vatican seminar on global warming gets heated

VATICAN CITY – Despite being held in a cool, climate-controlled conference room, some early discussions at a Vatican-sponsored seminar on global warming and climate change got pretty heated. The rifts and tensions still dividing the global debate on the causes of and remedies for drastic climatic shifts were gently simmering in the small microcosm of the two-day Vatican meeting. The seminar, sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, gathered some 80 experts representing the scientific, political, economic and spiritual sides of the climate-change debate at the Vatican April 26-27 to discuss “Climate Change and Development.”

Archbishop pulls support for hospital benefit