Page 1824 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. – Called in prayer a “dark act done under the cover of night,” the execution of convicted murderer David Leon Woods was carried out in the early hours of May 4. Woods, 42, had been sentenced to death 22 years earlier for the stabbing death of a family friend, Juan Placencia, during an attempted robbery in April 1984 in Garrett, Ind. Woods was 19 at the time. With appeals exhausted and clemency denied by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a group of death penalty opponents began to assemble at the Indiana State Prison parking lot shortly before sunset on the eve of the execution to keep vigil in support of Woods, who reportedly had undergone a conversion of heart and a transformation of faith while behind bars.

Pastor seeks to console scattered flock after tornado

DODGE CITY, Kan. – With his church believed to be destroyed by a powerful tornado and his parishioners “scattered to the four winds,” Father Gregory LeBlanc, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Greensburg, spent part of May 6 visiting the displaced in local shelters. “St. Joseph Church seems to have been one of the structures devastated by Friday night’s tornado. By most accounts it was destroyed,” Father LeBlanc said in a parish bulletin posted on the Web site of the Diocese of Dodge City.

To bring hope, first renew your spirituality

VATICAN CITY – Renewing their own spirituality and carefully studying the needs of others, women religious will be able to live the Gospel message and bring hope to the world, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope, meeting May 7 with almost 800 superiors of women’s congregations, asked the religious to follow the biblical example of the prophets, who “first listen and contemplate and then speak, allowing themselves to be totally permeated by that love for God, which fears nothing and is stronger even than death.”

Latinos start Cinco de Mayo with spiritual bonding

Some 50 Latino immigrants kicked off Cinco de Mayo at Our Lady of Pompei, Highlandtown, May 5, concentrating on their Catholic faith, which they pray will bring them a better life in the United States and merge their traditions with American culture. The mostly 20-something crowd who gathered for a ‘Convivencia,’ discussed the hardships they face as immigrants and how their parishes help them build a future in their adopted land. “There are vices all around us and some people are using them to cope with how alone they feel,” said Layaro Romero, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist, Columbia, and an El Salvador native who has been in this country about two years. “Instead of trying to help those people, we often just point fingers at them.”

New procedure allows surgeons to remove blood clots

Nearly 200,000 people die each year from Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) – a condition in which a blood clot forms inside a deep vein – and surgeons at St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson, are using a procedure that basically vacuums the clot right out of the body. About 30 people were treated at St. Joseph with the new technology known as Angiojet last year and surgeons are thrilled with the results, said Dr. Mark Gonze, chief of vascular surgery at the hospital.

Mercy doctor’s passion for running

Every Thursday morning Doctor Charles Edwards II runs from his home in Ruxton to his office in the Maryland Spine Center at Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore. The route is about nine miles. Dr. Edwards has been running since his days of cross country and track in middle school. When he was just 10 years old he ran a 40-mile course, which was set up by his Boy Scout troop, from York, Pa., to Hunt Valley in one day. By the time he graduated from high school he had done the course seven times and even set the record at one and a half hours.

Mysteries of Light add to beauty of Lourdes shrine

Mosaics depicting the luminous mysteries of the rosary are the newest addition to the outdoor rosary lane at the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes in Emmitsburg. Bishop W. Francis Malooly, western vicar, blessed and dedicated the mosaics April 29. “The grotto is always such a peaceful and spiritual place to be, and the addition of these mysteries adds another dimension to this already-beautiful place,” he said. The mosaics feature multi-colored images of Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River; Christ’s self-revelation at the marriage of Cana; Christ’s announcement of the kingdom of God; the Transfiguration and the institution of the Eucharist.

Three men to be ordained Jesuit priests

Three men will be ordained Jesuit priests by Cardinal William H. Keeler on June 9. Kurt Denk, Ralph Rivera and Ignatius Sasmita will be ordained at the Alumni Memorial Chapel of Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore.

Breaking medical myths

Dr. Norman Dy, a program director of the St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, Internal Medicine Residency who has his own private practice, uncovered the truth about medical myths in a recent interview.

Pope’s photographers snap coolly, with class

VATICAN CITY – They are not pushy or pesky; rather, the pope’s own paparazzi are the epitome of discretion and class. Vatican photographers stand out from other media shutterbugs, not just because they’re always dressed in ironed dark suits and ties, but because, coolly clicking away, they are the ones standing right next to the pope. The papal photographers are also the only ones allowed to shadow the pontiff almost everywhere he goes, even during more private moments – be they special audiences inside the Vatican with heads of state or an intimate luncheon with cardinals or bishops.

Muslim diplomats to attend course on Vatican diplomacy

VATICAN CITY – A group of diplomats from predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe will meet with top Vatican officials during an intensive three-week course on the Catholic Church. The aim of the May 7-27 course is to help Muslim governments understand how the Vatican works, especially in diplomacy, and to familiarize participants with the church and its network of social and humanitarian services.

Rectory serves as home for men considering priesthood