Page 1774 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

As students at Sacred Heart of Mary School, Dundalk, burst out of their various minivans and cars and scampered into the red-brick building for the first day of school Aug. 27, the uniform-clad boys and girls carried with them a colorful array of knapsacks, many of which were on wheels.

U.S. bishops denounce Amnesty’s policy to fight for legal abortions

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops denounced Amnesty International’s recent adoption of a policy to fight for the decriminalization of abortion around the world. Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., president of the conference, said in an Aug. 23 statement that the U.S. bishops urge Amnesty to “reconsider its error and reverse its policy on abortion.”

Salvation is open to all, but the way is not easy, pope says

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy – Salvation through Christ is open to all, but the way is not easy because it requires a real commitment to love and justice, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope, speaking Aug. 26 to hundreds of pilgrims at his summer residence outside Rome, said that when Christ told his disciples the gate to heaven was narrow he did not mean it was for the privileged few.

Holy Name members of the year honored at Oriole Park

Before the first pitch was thrown at Oriole Park Aug. 24, a Calvert Hall College High School, Towson, student and a parishioner of St. Joseph, Taneytown, were honored during the Archdiocesan Holy Name Union Baseball Game at Camden Yards.

Bishops’ inside man offers glimpses of inner workings

WASHINGTON – After decades of being the behind-the-scenes – and consistently off-the-record – point man for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in lobbying on Capitol Hill, Frank Monahan seemed simultaneously tantalized by and wary at the prospect of talking openly with a reporter about the work he did for 36 years.

Dank dungeon for common criminals

VATICAN CITY – For the first time in a decade, summer tourists could make their way down steep stone steps deep into the dark, dank interior of a papal fortress and crawl into prison cells that housed countless common criminals as well as Rome’s errant elite. The 1,900-year-old Castel Sant’Angelo, which stands near the Tiber River, was built as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian, then was converted into a fortress by medieval popes. At times, the turreted castle served as a refuge for beleaguered and besieged pontiffs and as a high-security prison.

African clergy celebrate unity, diversity of work in U.S.

CLARK, N.J. – Calling for unity among African missionaries and religious in the United States, a New Jersey pastor welcomed “those worthy ambassadors from the African soil” at the eighth annual convention of the African Conference of Catholic Clergy and Religious in the United States.

Campaign for Human Development provides a way out

As Our Lady of Pompei, Highlandtown, parishioner Paula Cisneros talked Aug. 23 about learning the English language and working to create a safer neighborhood, she noted that she and other members of the Latino group Proyecto Esperanza are not alone.

Body of first bishop of Mississippi exhumed in Baltimore

The first Bishop of Mississippi recently made his final trip from Baltimore to Natchez, Miss. – 155 years after he died in Maryland. Born in Baltimore Oct. 4, 1795 to refugees of St. Domingue (now Haiti), Bishop John J. Chanche, S.S., was ordained a priest in the city in 1819, became the president of St. Mary’s College on Paca St. in 1834, was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Natchez – the original diocese of Mississippi – by Pope Gregory XVI in 1841.

Booming oil industry spurs Catholic Church’s growth

WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church in the western Asian nation of Kazakhstan is facing unprecedented growth spurred by the country’s burgeoning economy and an influx of foreigners working in the oil industry.

Caribbean Catholics stress need for solidarity

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – “God is good,” Caribbean speaker Gerard Granado called out Aug. 17 during the second national convention of Caribbean Catholics of North America. “All the time,” participants answered in unison.

Peruvians begin to put tragedy behind