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The Save Middle East Action Committee and East Baltimore Development Initiative may have clashed over plans to revitalize a troubled East Baltimore neighborhood, but both organizations agree that Baltimore’s St. Wenceslaus has been instrumental in helping them compromise. St. Wenceslaus, which is focusing on commemorating signs of hope in the community, honored the two groups with a Mass and reception May 20. St. Wenceslaus pastor Father Peter Lyons, T.O.R., recognized both groups had a vested interest in reshaping the neighborhood, but had very different ideas about what was best for everyone involved, said Jack Shannon, president of EBDI.

WASHINGTON – The emphasis on Jesus’ centrality to the Catholic faith in Pope Benedict XVI’s first book as pope is likely to permeate his papacy, panelists told a Washington audience during a book launch event for “Jesus of Nazareth” May 15. Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., and Vatican analysts George Weigel and John Allen discussed the book at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington. The event was hosted by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, and Bill Barry, publisher in the Doubleday religious publishing division.

WASHINGTON – The return of a prominent evangelical philosopher and theologian to the Catholic Church, his childhood home, has provoked a storm of controversy in the evangelical community. Francis J. Beckwith is a tenured associate professor of church-state studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, the largest Baptist university in the world. He resigned as president of the Evangelical Theological Society May 5, after entering into full communion with the Catholic Church a week earlier.

ATLANTA – Catholic author Flannery O’Connor and Elizabeth “Betty” Hester first began corresponding in 1955 when Ms. Hester wrote a letter to Ms. O’Connor commenting on her work. Ms. Hester’s initial letter was a comment that she thought the author’s collection of short stories, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” were about God. Ms. O’Connor quickly responded, seeking more information about the stranger who understood her writing so well. It was the beginning of a friendship that lasted nearly a decade, with the two exchanging written communication almost weekly until Ms. O’Connor’s death from lupus in 1964 at age 39.

Dr. Timothy Law Snyder, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University in Connecticut has been named vice president for academic affairs at Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore. Beginning this summer, Dr. Snyder will oversee all academic functions at Loyola, including the operation of undergraduate and graduate programs in its two divisions. He also will join the president’s cabinet at Loyola to provide strategic leadership. While at Fairfield, Dr. Snyder also held a faculty position as full professor of mathematics and computer science.

LOS ANGELES – Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles said May 15 that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles would sell its chancery building, the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, to help fund future settlements in sex abuse cases. In December the archdiocese settled 46 civil cases of sexual abuse for $60 million. Its share of the settlement was about $40 million, with the remainder covered by insurance companies or religious orders. At the time the settlement was announced, the archdiocese said its share had been anticipated and set aside in 2005.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of the controversial head of Argentina’s military diocese, who submitted his resignation at age 75 in accordance with canon law. There was no immediate word on who would succeed Bishop Antonio Baseotto, who clashed with the government of President Nestor Kirchner two years ago. Pope Benedict accepted his resignation May 15. Earlier this year, an Argentine legislator drafted a bill to eliminate his position.

STUTTGART, Germany – Representatives of nearly 240 Christian movements have urged Europe’s churches to be a cohesive force in defending the continent’s Christian identity and pressing for greater solidarity with the poor and marginalized. “We see more clearly our responsibility in facing Europe’s challenges today: to be a strong social, cohesive force in its cultural pluralism,” the movements said in a declaration to European politicians. “Together we want to say to Europe and the world that our movements and communities are inspired by the Gospel of life and peace.”

Cardinal William H. Keeler will ordain nine permanent deacons for the Archdiocese of Baltimore May 19 in a 10 a.m. ceremony at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Homeland. The men completed four years of extensive study and were required to take courses in theology, leadership and spirituality with the Church Leadership Institute, followed by internships, coursework, retreats and a host of other ctivities preparing for formation. Deacons serve in hospitals, prisons and parishes in a variety of capacities.

Nine-year-old Ashlyn Thomas has always dreamed of opening a lemonade stand outside her house in Libertytown, but there was never enough foot traffic on her street to justify it. That’s not a problem at her home parish of St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown where hundreds of people gather for Sunday Masses every week. With the permission of Monsignor John Dietzenbach, pastor, Ashlyn and about a dozen friends began operating a lemonade stand at the parish a few years ago during the summer months. All the money they earn is donated to a special fund to help rebuild the church that burned down in 2004. Homemade signs advertise the business venture as a “Lemon-Aid” stand.