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WASHINGTON – Three themes run through black America, according to the Rev. Robert Franklin: celebration of heroic individual and collective achievement; closure of persistent racial gaps in such areas as education and health; and anxiety about losing ground and “mobilizing to reverse negative trend lines.” Rev. Franklin, author of the new book “Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities,” believes there is much about which to be anxious.

LONDON – A British Catholic aid agency has demanded that charges are dropped against a British activist who was arrested in Angola. Sarah Wykes, who works for the nongovernmental organization Global Witness, was taken from her hotel Feb. 18 by armed police in the oil-rich province of Cabinda and imprisoned amid accusations of espionage. She was released on bail three days later but never was given details of the charges, and is forbidden to leave the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Bishops in the Philippines have expressed concern over potential human rights violations which could result from an anti-terrorism bill. Bishop Martin Jumoad of Isabela said that, although he is “glad” the Human Security Act was passed by Congress, an independent body is needed to avoid such violations. “There should be another body of civil society that will evaluate or analyze the implementation,” he told UCA News, an Asian church news agency, Feb. 28.

The Eucharist was desecrated at St. Anthony Shrine in Emmitsburg after a frustrated thief or thieves apparently exacted revenge for failing to open a safe and poor box, according to Sister Marietta Culhane, O.S.F., temporary pastoral life director of St. Anthony and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Thurmont. A cleaning lady discovered the open tabernacle and consecrated hosts strewn on the church floor Feb. 2. Police and archdiocesan officials were immediately notified.

Eleventh-grader Mary J. Maclean, a student at Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, was one of six winners in Maryknoll’s 2006 annual student essay contest. Mary won $300 for second place out of 4,000 students writing on the topic, “Continuing the Mission.” Students nationwide wrote about where they would go and what they would do if they were missioners to share God’s love with people.

VATICAN CITY – If he looked around the chapel during his Lenten retreat this year, Pope Benedict XVI would have seen an all-male assembly. The absence of women was not deliberate. The invitation to attend the pope’s spiritual exercises goes out to the top two or three officials of Vatican agencies, and almost all of them are men. The retreat chapel offered a snapshot of a Vatican reality: The number of women working in the Roman Curia has steadily increased but, with rare exceptions, they have not broken through to the upper levels.

CHICAGO – Pro-lifers attending an Illinois conference envisioned a nation without Roe v. Wade, and a speaker told them there are many signs the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion could be overturned. “We see signs everywhere that an overturn of Roe v. Wade may soon be a reality,” said Ann Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League and an organizer of the 17th annual SpeakOut Illinois. “Most notably, we see signs from abortion supporters who have said they are afraid they may lose the Supreme Court’s support.”

DES MOINES, Iowa – Archbishop Jerome G. Hanus of Dubuque reacted with “deep sadness” after the Iowa House of Representatives Feb. 22 passed a bill to allow the cloning of human embryos for research. “With deep sadness, I regret the recent action by the Iowa House and Senate to change Iowa’s law which banned human cloning,” he said. The measure, H.R. 287, passed with a 52-46 vote. Fifty-one votes were needed for passage. One Republican apparently accidentally voted for the bill.

NEW YORK – Violence against women, both in the United States and around the world, is on the rise and must be addressed with a potent combination of social, legal and economic remedies, said a panel of speakers Feb. 27 in New York. “Addressing Violence Against Women” was the topic of a panel discussion at the Church of the Holy Family.