Page 1877 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

Maria Santini of Parkville received an early Christmas present during her weekly visit to St. Michael the Archangel, Overlea. Dec. 3 – a Mass celebrated in her native Spanish language The Venezuelan-born parishioner of the church joined her two daughters and bilingual husband, along with more than 100 fellow Spanish-speaking Catholics, for the parish’s first Mass articulated in this language.

Vatican spokesman says pope did not ask Kissinger to be his adviser

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI does not have a foreign affairs advisory board, and he has not asked former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to become one of his advisers, the Vatican spokesman said.

Court to hear case over federal backing of faith-based group funding

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court Dec. 1 agreed to review a case challenging the Bush administration’s support for federal funding for faith-based institutions.

Packing hope in a box

More than a year after Hurricane Katrina, many people from Gulfport, Miss., are now returning to their hometown. The houses may be built, the streets cleaned and the families eager to move on with their lives, but the everyday items for their homes are missing.

Woodmont Academy receives $900,000 challenge grant

Thomas V. Cunningham of The Cunningham Family Foundation has issued a challenge to Howard County’s newest Catholic elementary school, Woodmont Academy. If the Cooksville school receives pledges of $1 million or greater by Dec. 31, The Cunningham Family Foundation will donate $900,000 to Woodmont’s capital campaign, “Building Faith…Forming Leaders.”

Haiti Gala of Hope yields outpouring of donations

Kathleen Crocken won $525 during the 50/50 raffle at the annual Gala of Hope on Oct. 21. No sooner was the money in her grasp that she handed it right back to Deacon Rodrigue Mortel, M.D., who serves as director of the Office of the Propagation of the Faith and the Baltimore/Haiti project for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

St. Elizabeth educators help special education school in Qatar

Since its founding 45 years ago by the Franciscan Sisters of Baltimore, St. Elizabeth School in Baltimore has developed into one of Maryland’s most respected schools for students with special needs.

Bishop Loverde’s new pastoral focuses on ‘evil of pornography’

ARLINGTON, Va. (CNS) — The “evil of pornography” has spread like a plague throughout the culture thanks to mainstream entertainment and threatens the fabric of society far beyond the boundaries of church and school, said Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde in a new pastoral letter.

Illinois Catholic says faith has helped him cope with AIDS, prejudice

WHEATON, Ill. (CNS) — A typed copy of a Scripture passage is taped to the front door of Tom Hogueisson’s apartment in a housing complex supported by Wheaton Franciscan Services and designated for people with AIDS.

Is shopping the ruination of Christmas?

Our lengthy “holiday season” driven by the consumer-confidence index and lasting for months is a bad idea, writes Stephen Kent. It all adds up to a festival of consumerism, he believes; it wrings the true meaning out of Christmas. But Liz Quirin says that in her family Christmas shopping is a happy time of being together and having fun. Moreover, she finds that the current emphasis on parish gift-giving programs for the needy adds a positive note to family shopping at Christmas. The shopping doesn’t have to turn into a living, spending nightmare, Quirin says. She is editor of The Messenger, newspaper of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill. Kent, who writes from Seattle, Wash., has been editor of the archdiocesan newspapers of Seattle and Omaha, Neb.

Tradition of Mary’s house in Turkey stems from nun’s vision

EPHESUS, Turkey (CNS) — Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims began making pilgrimages to the House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus only after a bedridden, almost illiterate German nun had a vision of the house’s location.

Islamic studies find niche on Catholic college campuses