Page 1868 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

VATICAN CITY – The death of an Italian muscular dystrophy patient who had his respirator disconnected is fueling a complex and significant discussion among top church officials. Piergiorgio Welby, who was paralyzed and kept alive by a breathing machine for nine years, pleaded for months for the device to be turned off. He said medical technology was only artificially postponing his death. In late December, a physician granted his request, and Mr. Welby died shortly afterward.

Expanding and improvements at St. Ignatius

For the last decade St. Ignatius, Hickory, has had a vision for expansion in a rapidly growing parish and community. In 2001 the parish’s new church, positioned on the property so the old church would still be prominent, was dedicated and in late spring of this year the $7.5 million loan will be paid off. Monsignor James Barker, pastor, and the parishioners of St. Ignatius are now developing and planning for new construction, refurbishing and renovations in the next 10 years.

Congress starting from scratch on making new policy

WASHINGTON – The previous Congress never got to vote on a full-scale rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Some in the Republican-run House had hoped for a vote during the post-election lame-duck session, but the shift of power to the Democrats scuttled that possibility. Now, with Democrats in charge, what could a new telecommunications bill look like? There is the possibility of including language guaranteeing equal access to the Internet by content providers, a concept known as “net neutrality.”

Committee’s work is to be faithful defender of life

PHILADELPHIA – The priorities of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities today are “the priorities we’ve had for years, along with new challenges to life, “ said Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, who is now chairman of the committee. “We are simply trying to be faithful defenders of life at this juncture in the history of the U.S. and the world,” said the cardinal.

Knights of Fatima awards

The Knights of Columbus Council #10137 held their annual Police Officer and Teacher of the Year Awards Ceremony on Jan. 27 at Our Lady of Fatima, Baltimore.

Armenian Catholics in Iraq get new archbishop

VATICAN CITY – For the first time in more than five years, the tiny Armenian Catholic community in Iraq has its own archbishop. The Vatican announced Jan. 26 that Pope Benedict XVI had given his assent to the Armenian Catholic bishops’ election of Father Emmanuel Dabbaghian, 73, as the Armenian Catholic archbishop of Baghdad. The post had been vacant since the October 2001 retirement of Archbishop Paul Coussa at the age of 84.

Humorous wedding stories

CR readers share a few amusing wedding anecdotes. Dorothy Williams, principal, St. Clare School, Essex “My husband and I were married on May 3, 1975, at Loyola College Chapel in Baltimore. It was a beautiful day and everything was going perfect …

Catholic Charities Day in Annapolis

As Del. Steven J. DeBoy Sr. prepared for a busy day representing Baltimore and Howard counties in the Maryland General Assembly, a group of Catholic Charities employees ushered an ex-convict into his office. The Catholic state delegate and special investigator for the Howard County Police Department sized up 51-year-old Edwin Gregory of Baltimore as he settled into a chair in the modest Annapolis office. After introductions were made, Mr. Gregory was able to tell the Democratic delegate how the Catholic Charities’ Maryland Re-entry Program helped him re-establish his life after being released from prison by aiding him with housing, drug rehabilitation, employment as a custodian at Immaculate Conception, Baltimore, and encouraging him as he pursues a college education.

Public advocacy part of church work with immigrants

ST. PAUL – The church must supplement its ministerial programs with political advocacy if it is to meet the needs of the growing immigrant population in the United States, said Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony. Some people question the church’s role in politics or challenge the church’s position on immigration reform, but the church’s mission is not limited to people’s spiritual well-being, the cardinal said. “Our concern is with the whole person and his or her human development,” he said Jan. 18 at an immigration conference at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. The Jan. 18-19 conference was sponsored by the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity and the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis.

Religious leaders urge renewed peace initiative

WASHINGTON – Several Catholics were among nearly 40 U.S. religious leaders who called on President George W. Bush to launch a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative. “We ask that you make Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, in the context of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace initiative, an urgent priority for your administration,” the leaders said in a letter delivered to the White House Jan. 23 and to all members of Congress Jan. 25.

Cardinal seeks exemption for adoptions by gay couples

LONDON – The head of the English and Welsh bishops’ conference told British Prime Minister Tony Blair 13 Catholic adoption agencies in the United Kingdom would close if the government forced them to place children with same-sex couples. In a Jan. 22 letter, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster, England, appealed to Prime Minister Blair to grant the agencies an exemption from proposed gay rights laws called the Sexual Orientation Regulations.

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