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VATICAN CITY – Human freedom must be exercised in accordance with God’s law, including the obligation to protect human life, said members of a dialogue commission representing the Vatican and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. “Freedom of choice is derived from God and therefore is not absolute, but must reflect divine will and law,” said members of the Catholic-Jewish commission at the end of their mid-March meeting in Jerusalem.

Harvard to return collection of historic bells

MOSCOW – Harvard University will return a collection of historic bells to the Russian Orthodox Church more than seven decades after they were seized and sold by the regime of Josef Stalin. “These bells are not only a witness, but also a victim of history, a symbol of the independence, greatness and identity of the people,” Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow said March 21. “I’m happy our guests from Harvard University could feel this part of the Russian soul, conveyed through the tolling of church bells.” Orthodox and Harvard representatives signed an agreement to return the 18 bells to Moscow’s Danilov Monastery, which has housed the Moscow Patriarchate since being reopened in 1988.

Destroyed by fire, Grantsville parish to rebuild

Local News, News

The fire that devastated St. Ann in Grantsville two days before Christmas may have taken the tiny faith community’s church building but it failed to claim the parish’s spirit. Parishioners now worship in the chapel at Newman Funeral Home in Grantsville and the religious education program has adopted a home-based approach under the direction of Camilla Rawe.

James Upchurch honored

Bishop W. Francis Malooly, western vicar, presented James Upchurch with the Bishop Frank Murphy Peace and Justice Award during the annual social ministry convocation March 3 at The Seton Keough High School, Baltimore.

Thirty-seven seminarians instituted as acolytes

Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, instituted 37 seminarians of the Pontifical North American College in Rome as acolytes during a celebration of the Eucharist on March 11.

New Palestinian Cabinet likely to succeed

JERUSALEM – A Catholic Palestinian legislator praised the new Palestinian Cabinet and said it was likely to succeed. “This is a good start,” said Bernard Sabella, a Fatah member of the Palestinian Parliament. “In effect it is a government which combines the more practical and pragmatic elements of Fatah, the independents and second-rank Hamas” members. Fatah and Hamas are Palestinian political factions with radical members and representation in government.

Catechumen eagerly waits to become a Catholic

Joe Boys, 67, didn’t grow up in one church. His father was in the United States Army, and his family traveled often. Now that his grandson, Stephen, is Catholic and many of his friends are Catholic, he, too, is preparing to make the next step in faith. “I was not really happy in the churches I attended, but in the Catholic Church you get the feeling of unity,” said Mr. Boys, who is inspired by his grandson, who is stationed in Iraq. “I told him (Stephen) I want to learn how to pray hard for him. I want to be closer to Stephen.”

Catholic hospitals donate cord blood

ALLENDALE, N.J. – A New Jersey health care initiative has reached its goal of getting Catholic hospitals in the state to donate umbilical-cord and placenta blood for adult stem-cell research. During a March 9 press conference at the Elie Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program facility in Allendale, Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark and Father Joseph Kukura, president of the Princeton-based Catholic HealthCare Partnership of New Jersey, reported on the progress of an alliance among 10 Catholic hospitals that provide obstetrical services.

Godparent plays important lifelong role

When it comes to the role of godparents in a child’s life, Church of the Holy Apostles, Gambrills, pastor Father Jeffrey S. Dauses wants sponsors to heed their lifelong responsibility to be an active and present support in the life of the child. “In the rite of baptism, there’s a question specifically directed toward the godparents; are they willing to be of assistance to the parent and to support the child in his or her life of faith, not just in the rite of baptism, but as a lifelong responsibility,” said Father Dauses, who conducts dozens of baptisms annually. “It’s always been my dream that godparents would also serve as the sponsor at confirmation, to show that ongoing connection and their ongoing presence in the life of this child.”

Godmothers of a different kind

When St. Matthew, Northwood, parishioner Dorothy E. Alford is in need of a spiritual boost or a friend, this 95-year-old Idlewood resident contacts her ‘godparents.’ She is not praying to deceased family or friends who attended her baptism – but calling the two younger women who assisted in her conversion to Catholicism three years ago. Rosalie Douglas, 81, of Ramblewood and Connie Fliegel, 55, of Towson have become two of the most important people in Ms. Alford’s life. The three St. Matthew parishioners span three generations, three religious origins and three largely different backgrounds – but found a common bond in their devotion to God, community and spiritual growth.

Behind the scenes

VATICAN CITY – As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2005, U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada has found that most of his work is behind the scenes. The recent action against Jesuit Father Jon Sobrino was an exception: He was the first theologian to be publicly censured during Cardinal Levada’s tenure, and the case immediately brought the doctrinal congregation into the media spotlight. Although some critics described the Vatican’s action against Father Sobrino as authoritarian, for Cardinal Levada it was an example of how carefully and cooperatively the doctrinal congregation operates.

Eckerl believes in “The Calvert Hall Way”