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SYDNEY, Australia – Hundreds of youth, clergy and laity watched the World Youth Day cross and icon of Mary and Jesus pass from young New Zealanders to youth representatives from every Australian diocese.

Parish leaders at St. Paul in Ellicott City have completed a master plan that calls for the demolition of a duplex on parish grounds and replacing it with a two-story parish center. As part of the master plan, the entrance on College Avenue will be widened to allow for safer ingress and egress.

As Margery Ivester joined some fellow parishioners of St. Paul, Ellicott City, in a recent gardening project at the church, she noticed that she felt more vibrant and content than she had since being diagnosed with depression some 13 years ago.

On June 28, representatives from nine Southwest Baltimore businesses announced the expansion of a community partnership, Caton Corners, which was founded in 2004. Caton Corners will now include five local businesses to work together to improve the working and personal lives of the residents who live in the neighborhoods of Southwest Baltimore.

A married Baltimore County man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend will become the first person prosecuted under Maryland’s new fetal homicide law – a move applauded by a Catholic lobbyist and a medical professional.

Registrations are being accepted for the fall 2007 Pastoral Spanish program at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore. The program assists those in the archdiocese who minister to the Hispanic community and focuses on the culture, history and faith expressions of the diverse Latino population. The curriculum will include conversational Spanish and language skills for pastoral care and discussions of the complexities of the ministry.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Family, friends and Jesuit communities are mourning the death of a California Jesuit priest and his hiking companion. The pair had been missing in Oregon since June 8.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Knights of Columbus, the largest lay Catholic organization in the world, has announced that it set new records for charitable giving and volunteer service in 2006.

WASHINGTON – The day after Hispanic congressmen gathered with priests and Hispanic families to pray that wisdom be granted to members of the Senate, a bipartisan bill to reform immigration failed to garner the votes needed to move into voting on the issue. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., a member of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus, led a news conference on the terrace of the Cannon House Office Building on the morning of June 27. He said the purpose of the assembly was “so that together with our prayers we can enlighten the Senate of the United States and encourage people to have the courage to do what is right and what is correct.” Gutierrez and Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., along with religious leaders, spoke in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, a topic Gutierrez called a “moral issue.”

ROME – Pope Benedict XVI announced a special jubilee year dedicated to St. Paul, saying the church needs modern Christians who will imitate the apostle’s missionary energy and spirit of sacrifice. The pope said the Pauline year will run from June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009, to mark the approximately 2,000th anniversary of the saint’s birth. He made the announcement while presiding over a vespers service at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome June 28, the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, patron saints of Rome.