Page 1883 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

The small woman wearing layers of clothes, a worn jacket and a ragged knit cap has been homeless for the past five years and has yet to qualify for public assistance to move into a stable living situation. She has slept in shelters, transitional housing and even city public parks, but has found that being homeless is a full time job, requiring all of her energy to survive, with little or none left over to fulfill the requirements that would get her a permanent roof over her head.

Archbishop decries immigration raids at meat plants in six states

The archbishop of Denver decried the immigration raids conducted at meatpacking plants in six states Dec. 12 by federal authorities to arrest workers in the country illegally who were suspected of participating in an identity theft scam. “The mass arrest of unauthorized workers in Colorado and across the country this week once again puts a human face on the flaws in our immigration system, a system that needs immediate and very serious reform,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said in a Dec. 13 statement.

Monsignor Joseph L. Luca

Basilica windows sparkle in new home

George P. Matysek Jr.

Local News, News

On a recent sunny afternoon, the stained glass windows at St. Louis in Clarksville sparkled with a radiance few could have imagined when they stood in their original home at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Illuminated by the mid-day sun, brilliant shades of cobalt blue, deep purples and fiery reds seemed to leap from the glass and command a visitor’s gaze.

Religious leaders declare hope for Mideast, urge strong U.S. role

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Leaders of 29 national Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations issued a joint call for the Bush administration and the new Congress to make Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace a top foreign policy priority. Peace is “an essential of faith” in all three religious traditions, they said.

Australian Parliament legalizes embryonic cloning

SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) — Australian legislators legalized the use of embryonic cloning for research despite objections from Australian Prime Minister John Howard. A Dec. 6 parliamentary vote lifted a four-year ban on human cloning by allowing the cloning of embryos through somatic cell nuclear transfer, commonly called therapeutic cloning.

Excommunicated archbishop ordains two more married men as priests

Raymond A. Grosswirth of Rochester, N.Y., and Dominic Riccio of Newark are the latest married men to be illicitly ordained Catholic priests by excommunicated Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. Like the married Zambian archbishop who ordained them, the two were automatically excommunicated for participating in an ordination ceremony not sanctioned by the church.

Moving in fast forward: 2006 saw acceleration of Benedict’s papacy

The year 2006 saw an acceleration of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate, highlighted by publication of the pope’s first encyclical, four foreign trips and important appointments at the Vatican and around the world. For what was supposed to be a pared-back papacy, it was a busy 12 months.

Lunchtime Mass provides spiritual boost for city workers

On a recent frigid December weekday, Tina Tekirian of Frederick slipped out of her laboratory at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine in downtown Baltimore, walked the few blocks to Shrine of St. Jude and settled into a pew shortly before the noon Mass was set to begin. With a workplace identification card dangling in front of her warm purple sweater, the neuroscientist and parishioner of St. John the Evangelist, Frederick was deep in prayer as the priest made his way to the altar.

Celebrating culture at Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dressed as the Indian peasant St. Juan Diego, who was visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary nearly 500 years ago, 2-year-old Brian Balbuena of Westminster helped several hundred Maryland Hispanics celebrate the annual Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 10 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Homeland.

Vatican officials say they found St. Paul’s tomb in Roman basilica

After years of archaeological work, Vatican officials announced they have identified the tomb of St. Paul beneath the Rome basilica dedicated to the apostle.

Kidnappers release two Chaldean Catholic priests in Iraq

The kidnapped rector of the Chaldean Catholic seminary and a kidnapped parish priest in Baghdad, Iraq, have been released. The Rome-based AsiaNews agency reported Dec. 11 the reasons for the priest’s abduction and release were still unknown, but it said the rector’s health “was fine.”

St. Vincent volunteer encourages gift giving