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ROME – The Pontifical North American College welcomed its largest incoming class in 40 years Aug. 28 when 61 seminarians arrived.

JERUSALEM – Israeli archaeologists uncovered the remains of two distinct southern walls of ancient Jerusalem on Mount Zion, establishing the size of the city during Jesus’ time as well as during the Byzantine period.

Last week’s column waded into the controversial territory of contraception, the Church’s firm, steady and – I would claim – infallible teaching on the openness to every marital act to both the unitive and procreative meaning that God wills for marital love. The occasion was the recent 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s landmark encyclical, “Humanae Vitae,” in which the Holy Father addressed the crisis of marriage and the family in the modern world. The Church’s teaching is as true today as it was then, and as it was for almost two millennia before – even though it is said that more than 90 percent of Catholics disagree with that teaching. The question I would pose on this anniversary is whether the teaching of “Humanae Vitae” was understood before it was rejected. Why was there such confusion when, after many years of discussion, “Humanae Vitae” appeared 40 years ago?

St. Peter Claver Parish can rightfully be called “The Mother Parish” of West Baltimore African-American Catholics. Founded in 1888 by the Mill Hill Josephite Fathers, this church, specifically for African-Americans, was the first of its kind in West Baltimore.

Question: My friend’s mother has been diagnosed with lung cancer. The doctor said her mother will probably only live for about six more months. He suggested they arrange hospice care. My friend and her family are distraught. What do you suggest?

What a wonderful column on “Humanae Vitae” by Archbishop O’Brien (CR, Aug. 28). Praise God! It brought me to tears that finally someone has the courage to publicly proclaim and defend “Humanae Vitae.” In the 40 years since it was published in 1968, I have never heard it mentioned from a pulpit.

The editorial, “U.S. workforce continues to evolve,” (CR, Aug. 28) reflects the uncertainty we all feel about the value and dignity of our labor. It rightly praises the Catholic Church for its steadfast embrace of workers’ rights. Bombarded by the virtues of the “free market” since the 1980’s, and urged to accept its omnipotence and our impotence before it, the “standard of human dignity” noted in the editorial recedes farther and farther from our grasp.

SAN FRANCISCO – Pro-life groups are asking California voters to approve a measure that would prohibit abortions involving underage girls until 48 hours after a parent or other family member has been notified.