Page 1870 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The U.S. bishops and Catholic Charities USA have called for an increase in the federal minimum wage. “The minimum wage needs to be raised not just for the goods and services a person can buy but for the self-esteem and self-worth it affords,” said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Policy, in a Jan. 8 letter to members of Congress.

‘Olympic’ games bond youth in faith and love

The large gymnasium stage at Sacred Heart, Glyndon, was draped with red, green, blue, black and yellow streamers Jan. 5, while Olympic rings hung on the wall and some 120 balloons scattered the floor. The planning group for the Olympic themed lock-in, Katie Beinstein, Mary Bosley, Haley and Allison Boyd and Joe Miller, had worked on the event for high school-age youth for months and were anxious to see how everything played out on the rainy Friday evening. “They really put their all into it,” said Mae Richardson, the boisterous youth minister for the parish. “It’s an opportunity to experience the church outside the building.”

Calvert Hall College dismisses head football coach

The administration of Calvert Hall College High School, Towson, after meeting with Coach Jay Robinson, announced that the school is seeking a new head coach for the 2007 football season. The school’s administration offered this statement: “We thank Jay for his integrity, dedication and hard work throughout the past eight years. Jay has been invited to continue as a member of the social studies faculty, where he is well respected for his professionalism and rapport with students and colleagues.” According to MIAA Web site editor Gary Adornato (www.miaasports.com), the Cardinals went 45-37 under Robinson, but the team had a losing record in three of the last four years, including a 1-8 mark in 2006, which included an 0-5 record in the A Conference.

Nonpublic schools demand help

Henry Fortier calls it one of the “most painful” days in his life. After several years as principal of New All Saints School in West Baltimore – a time marked by increasing test scores and steady improvement in student performance – Mr. Fortier had to tell his students their school was closing. “It was devastating,” said Mr. Fortier, now one of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s associate superintendents. “It hurt to see them hurt. I had kids offering their allowances to keep the school open.”

New alternative to embryo use

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The recent announcement by scientists at Wake Forest and Harvard universities that the amniotic fluid surrounding a child in the womb can be the source of medically useful stem cells is just the latest in a series of studies showing the research value of the byproducts of live birth, according to the deputy director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. Richard M. Doerflinger told Catholic News Service Jan. 8 that various studies have shown that the placenta, cord blood, the umbilical cord itself and other byproducts of birth “may all contain very versatile stem cells, with many of the advantages of embryonic stem cells without the practical disadvantages or moral problems.”

Krakow rector quits after Polish archbishop resigns

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The fallout from the resignation of Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus continued, with revelations about his role as an informant for former secret police, warnings about new disclosures to come and the resignation of a leading churchman in Krakow, Poland. Pope Benedict XVI accepted Archbishop Wielgus’ resignation Jan. 7, just two days after he became archbishop of Warsaw. The following day, Father Janusz Bielanski resigned as rector of Krakow’s Wawel Cathedral, the burial place of Poland’s kings and queens and a landmark of church history. Father Bielanski also had been accused of cooperation with communist-era secret police.

Catholics honor Martin Luther King

As a way of honoring slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., black Baltimore Catholics are urging people to improve themselves and to give of themselves at two events at the St. Frances Academy Community Center. St. Frances Academy is hosting its 5th Annual Martin Luther King Day Job Fair from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the school, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore Office of African American Ministries is holding its MLK Blood Drive at the same location from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 15.

More U.S. strikes on Somalia would make things worse

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While he has said for years that terrorists were hiding out in Somalia, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Mogadishu said more U.S. airstrikes would only make things worse. Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, who also oversees the church in Somalia’s chaotic and violent capital, spoke to the Vatican’s Fides news agency Jan. 9, the day after a U.S. Air Force gunship fired on suspected al-Qaida terrorists in southern Somalia. “Prudence must guide all human activities, and it is even more important when taking action in a country like Somalia,” Bishop Bertin said. “This act risks throwing more fuel on an already explosive situation.”

A Reflection on the Death Penalty

What does the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex 20:13) mean for us today? In 1972 the supreme court opened the door to states to rewrite death penalty statutes to eliminate the problems cited in Furman v Georgia that is; punishment would be “cruel and unusual” if it was too severe for the crime, if it offended society’s sense of justice, if it was arbitrary, or if it was more effective than a less severe penalty. Regrettably, the death penalty was reinstated in 1977. The 2006 year end report of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) demonstrates that executions have dropped to their lowest level in ten years. States are grappling with problems related to the lethal injection process and wrongful convictions. A 2006 Gallup poll reported that more people support a sentence of life without parole over the death penalty.

Archdiocese partners with piano company

The piano Jeff Bunn has been using for music instruction at Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Middle River has seen better days. Now more than 35 years old, the well-used instrument is out of tune and long overdue for retirement. That’s why Mr. Bunn couldn’t be more elated that not one, but two brand-new pianos were scheduled to be delivered to his parish campus the week of Jan. 8 – one for the high school and one for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School. “It’s like night and day,” he said with a laugh.

Loretta Hoffman of Timonium looks over her Nativity scene that was vandalized during the early morning hours of Jan 4. (CR Staff/Owen Sweeney III)|

Vandal attacks Timonium Nativity set

Standing next to toppled plastic figures of St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin Mary and assorted sheep, Loretta Hoffman shook her head sadly and pointed to an empty manger flipped on its side by vandals. “That’s where the baby Jesus was,” she said, noting that her husband, Gil, had secured the figure with wires to prevent the wind from knocking it over. “They ripped it out and they took it. It makes me sad.” Because Jesus seemed to be a particular target, Mrs. Hoffman is convinced that the vandalism on her front lawn in Timonium is more than the handiwork of youthful pranksters. The parishioner of Immaculate Conception in Towson thinks she is the victim of a hate crime.

MCC lauds N.J. death penalty recommendation