Page 1763 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

Antonio Gomes dos Santos remembers the day, 11 years ago, when he was sold for the equivalent of about $80.

Catholic Charities delegates discuss poverty, racism

CINCINNATI – Singing “This Little Light of Mine” and walking across a Civil War-era suspension bridge from Covington, Ky., to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati Sept. 15, about 500 participants at the annual Catholic Charities USA convention demonstrated their desire to lead the way out of poverty and racism.

Vatican dismisses English woman’s Marian claims

LONDON – The Vatican has dismissed the claims of a woman in England who says Mary has visited her outside her home for more than 20 years. Ruling that her claims are “highly questionable,” the Vatican also has refused to approve the statutes of the community she founded.

Tony Blair to be speaker at annual Al Smith dinner

NEW YORK – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the 62nd Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner Oct. 18 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper, reported recently that Blair had accepted Cardinal Edward M. Egan’s invitation to speak.

Outpouring after tragedies helps communities heal

When the unthinkable happens, people of faith are called to respond. In the Archdiocese of Baltimore, that response has proven to be swift and compassionate in the wake of three recent tragedies, with individuals offering prayers, schools activating crisis management plans and parishes reaching out to families.

Sister Helen Prejean calls on Md. to end death penalty

Standing beneath a large crucifix in the sanctuary of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge, Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., stretched out her arms and intently fixed her gaze on the hundreds of people who filled the pews Sept. 20.

Cardinal Keeler celebrates final public Mass

A few years ago, Dana Brower wasn’t sure if her son, Jonathan, would graduate from Calvert Hall College High School in Towson. Facing serious financial difficulties, the family didn’t have a way to pay tuition, she said. So Mrs. Brower met personally with Cardinal William H. Keeler and told him of her plight. Through his intercession, Jonathan graduated from Calvert Hall and is now a freshman history major at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Stitz looks for more as Friars lack fire

The defending MIAA A Conference soccer champs, the Archbishop Curley High School Friars, kicked their 2007 season off on Aug. 31 with a 5-0 win over Bullis School to open the Adidas Soccer Challenge. From there, the Baltimore school’s Friars reeled off an impressive 10-0 overall record going into the Sept. 19 Alumni Cup against MIAA A Conference opponent Calvert Hall College High School, Towson.

U.S. has moral obligation to Iraqi people

NEW YORK – The United States has a moral obligation to the people of Iraq that must be met regardless of when U.S. troops ultimately withdraw from that country.

Pope transfers Moscow archbishop to Belarus

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Moscow to head the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev in Belarus.

Health care occupies Congress, churches and candidates

WASHINGTON – As a Sept. 30 deadline looms for Congress to extend the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and presidential candidates roll out the details of their plans for health care reform, new evidence is emerging that churches play an important role in filling the gaps in the current system.

Shackled and cuffed: Prisoners need pastoral attention