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When Pamela Protani spent part of her day feeding and playing with children with mental and physical disabilities at a South African orphanage last month, she was stunned by the reception she received on the streets of Pretoria. “It was indescribable,” said Ms. Protani, a parishioner of St. Joseph in Fullerton who was one of 16 Catholics from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to participate in a two-week mission to Africa in mid-August. “Children from all over the neighborhood came up and took us by the hand,” she remembered. “Even on the main street, people were blowing horns, waving and taking photos. It was very humbling.” Representing seven parishes, the Baltimore pilgrims ministered in South African and Tanzanian orphanages, AIDS clinics and schools run by the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order founded by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. They donated more than 150 pounds of clothing, toys, candy, rosaries, holy cards and other items.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Zimbabwean Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, the most outspoken critic of the country’s leadership who is also facing allegations of adultery. In an undated letter written by the archbishop and released by the Vatican press office Sept. 11, the archbishop wrote that he offered his resignation to Vatican officials in July to spare sullying the image of the church. The Vatican announced that the pope accepted the archbishop’s resignation under Canon 401.2, which covers resignations for illness or some other grave reason. Archbishop Ncube, 60, is being sued for adultery and his case is before the High Court of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. The adultery lawsuit was made public in July and state-run newspapers published photos they said were of Archbishop Ncube and a woman, taken with a concealed camera placed in the archbishop’s bedroom.

UNITED NATIONS – The poor are disproportionately affected by the environment and are particularly vulnerable to climate change, said Catholic representatives from around the world Sept. 6 at a U.N. conference on climate change. Small groups can adopt good practices to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change and promote human rights, they said in describing current projects in Nigeria, Indonesia, Australia and Newark, N.J. The midday workshop on “Human Rights and Good Practices in the Face of Climate Change” was part of a Sept. 5-7 conference at the United Nations.

A disappointing start to an otherwise hopeful season, The Catholic High School of Baltimore Cubs dropped their first field hockey league game on Sept. 6 to St. Timothy’s, Stevenson, 1-0 in overtime on a penalty flick. The team is coached by Anne Winters, a theology teacher at the school, who brings knowledge and a big dose of enthusiasm to the table. Winters has been a field hockey advocate since her sophomore year at St. Mary’s High School, Annapolis, when the field hockey program got underway.

HEILIGENKREUZ, Austria – In a visit to one of the world’s oldest monasteries, Pope Benedict XVI underlined the power of prayer as a form of “service to the world.” The pope, winding up a three-day visit to Austria Sept. 9, paid a call on the Cistercian Abbey of the Holy Cross, the oldest continuously active Cistercian monastery in the world. He was given a rousing welcome, first by hundreds of local children gathered in the monastic courtyard, then by the monks and faithful assembled inside the stone medieval church. Founded in 1135, the Heiligenkreuz monastic community brought Christianity to the region, and today it has about 80 monks. Its pontifical theological academy is thriving with more than 100 students.

MARIAZELL, Austria – Inspired by a small wooden statue of Mary and the child Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI appealed on behalf of the world’s suffering children, including the poor, the orphaned and those forced to fight in wars. The pope spoke during Mass Sept. 8 for some 30,000 pilgrims at the Austrian shrine of Mariazell, where a linden wood statue of Madonna and child has been revered for 850 years. The liturgy was the centerpiece of the pontiff’s three-day trip to Austria.

MODENA, Italy – Pope Benedict XVI mourned the death of Luciano Pavarotti and praised the Italian tenor for his extraordinary talent. In a telegram sent to Archbishop Benito Cocchi of Modena-Nonantola, the pope offered his condolences for the death of this “great artist who honored the divine gift of music through his extraordinary interpretative talent.” The archbishop read aloud the telegram Sept. 8 during the Catholic funeral Mass held in the city’s cathedral, where Pavarotti had sung as a child in the choir. Catholic News Service obtained a copy of the telegram from the Vatican Sept. 10.

Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., a nationally known death penalty abolitionist whose book inspired the movie “Dead Man Walking,” will present two talks about capital punishment next week in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Both events, co-sponsored by the Maryland Catholic Conference, will begin at 7 p.m., with Sister Helen speaking at St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge on Sept. 20 and St. John the Evangelist in Frederick on Sept. 21. Sister Helen, a spiritual advisor to Louisiana death row inmates and author of “Dead Man Walking” and “The Death of Innocents,” will speak about her own ministry to death row inmates and the families of murder victims. She will also address abolitionist efforts in Maryland.