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WASHINGTON – The previous Congress never got to vote on a full-scale rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Some in the Republican-run House had hoped for a vote during the post-election lame-duck session, but the shift of power to the Democrats scuttled that possibility. Now, with Democrats in charge, what could a new telecommunications bill look like? There is the possibility of including language guaranteeing equal access to the Internet by content providers, a concept known as “net neutrality.”

PHILADELPHIA – The priorities of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities today are “the priorities we’ve had for years, along with new challenges to life, “ said Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, who is now chairman of the committee. “We are simply trying to be faithful defenders of life at this juncture in the history of the U.S. and the world,” said the cardinal.

As Del. Steven J. DeBoy Sr. prepared for a busy day representing Baltimore and Howard counties in the Maryland General Assembly, a group of Catholic Charities employees ushered an ex-convict into his office. The Catholic state delegate and special investigator for the Howard County Police Department sized up 51-year-old Edwin Gregory of Baltimore as he settled into a chair in the modest Annapolis office. After introductions were made, Mr. Gregory was able to tell the Democratic delegate how the Catholic Charities’ Maryland Re-entry Program helped him re-establish his life after being released from prison by aiding him with housing, drug rehabilitation, employment as a custodian at Immaculate Conception, Baltimore, and encouraging him as he pursues a college education.

ST. PAUL – The church must supplement its ministerial programs with political advocacy if it is to meet the needs of the growing immigrant population in the United States, said Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony. Some people question the church’s role in politics or challenge the church’s position on immigration reform, but the church’s mission is not limited to people’s spiritual well-being, the cardinal said. “Our concern is with the whole person and his or her human development,” he said Jan. 18 at an immigration conference at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. The Jan. 18-19 conference was sponsored by the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity and the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis.

MILWAUKEE – In an age of complex, high-speed technology, the Milwaukee Archdiocese’s Vocations Office has turned to a method used in the time of Christ to help young Catholics determine God’s calling for them. “They went out two by two, just like the disciples,” said Father James Lobacz, archdiocesan vocations director, about members of the Vocation Ministers of the Milwaukee Archdiocese. Last fall they visited each of the archdiocese’s 13 high schools to discuss vocations education and programming at each school. The initiative is called “Give God a Chance!”