Page 1868 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

The harsh reality of the war in Iraq smacks Corey Fick in the face every time the Towson resident visits his boyhood friend Ryan Major in the hospital and sees his fellow St. Pius X School alum struggling to heal after a land mine explosion resulted in the amputation of both of his legs. Not wanting money to be an issue for his childhood friend, Mr. Fick, a 21-year-old St. Pius X, Rodgers Forge parishioner, and some friends held a bull roast at St. Pius Jan. 13 which drew more than 500 people and raised approximately $50,000. The money will be funneled into the Ryan C. Major Foundation, which will pay for essentials the U.S. Army will not fund, such as a handicap ramp to the entrance of his mother’s Silver Spring home.

Area Catholics urged to support Sudan relief efforts

As support from parishes and schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore continues to help relief efforts in violence-riddled North Sudan, a Catholic Relief Services representative working in that country urged local Catholics to endorse United Nations aid. “The Catholic population has been extremely generous throughout this conflict,” said Mark Snyder, a CRS field representative stationed in Khartoum, who was in the organization’s headquarters in Baltimore for a press call Jan. 10. “But, we need the people here to lobby their political representatives for more U.N. support and to insure funding, so our programs won’t fade away.”

Former Gibbons coach dies at age 49

The Cardinal Gibbons School, Baltimore, mourns the loss of yet another member of their school community – 49-year-old former head basketball coach and athletic director Bob Flynn died of a massive heart attack in his Catonsville home Jan. 12. Flynn was rushed to St. Agnes Hospital, Catonsville, where he later died, just a stone’s throw from his high school alma mater and coaching dream.

U.S. Bishop discusses Palestinian plight

NAHALEEN, West Bank – The encroachment of Israeli settlements on Palestinian water sources must be addressed, said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., said his two-day visit to view Catholic Relief Services’ projects in West Bank farming villages brought to his attention the plight of farmers who are losing access to their water supply. “It is the first time I have become aware of the critical nature of the water supply. (Palestinians) feel their water supply is being cut from them by the encroachment (of Israeli settlements) beyond the green line,” said the bishop.

Judge says abuse lawsuit against Vatican can go ahead

WASHINGTON. (CNS) – A federal judge in Louisville, Ky., has denied a Vatican request to dismiss a sex abuse lawsuit seeking damages from the Holy See. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II ruled Jan. 11 that U.S. bishops and priests are employees of the Vatican within the terms of the Federal Sovereign Immunity Act.

Hike in federal minimum wage long overdue

WASHINGTON – An increase in the federal minimum wage, its proponents would argue, is not only an idea whose time has come, but an idea whose time had come long ago. The minimum wage was last increased in 1997. The 10-years-and-counting gap between increases is the longest since the minimum wage was instituted in 1938. Its purchasing power also has dropped. According to Catholic Charities USA, it’s now equal to $3.95 in 1995 dollars – when the minimum wage was $4.25.

Cathedral parishioners merge marriage with business

When Tom Kinstle of Homeland retired from Lockheed Martin in 2002 and joined his wife’s Timonium-based design business, he wasn’t worried that too much togetherness would cause conflicts at work or at home. “I dabble here,” the 73-year-old Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Homeland parishioner said. “It’s Ruth’s business.” That statement caused his youthful-looking 60-year-old wife to erupt in laughter and then wag her finger at him. “Wait a minute,” Ms. Kinstle playfully protested. “I don’t know that I like the tone of that. It sounds like you want to spend more time on the golf course. You can’t quit on me.”

Couples keep the spark alive through dating

Erica and Sean Kerchner are a military couple who have been married for three years and at the moment find it hard to spend quality time together. Mr. Kerchner has been training with the U.S. Navy in Norfolk, Va. for four months while his wife stays with her parents in Silver Spring. Mrs. Kerchner said her husband comes to visit on the weekends and it is important for them to find time just for themselves in between visiting friends and family. They try to set aside one night to go out to dinner or a movie, “nothing really fancy,” she said. She said if they can’t have a full night together they will make sure to set a few hours aside to go up a local pizza place or just talk.

A bumper crop of good films

Those who complain that they don’t make quality films “like they used to” should get out more often and see what a rich palette of films – both domestic and foreign – are available, provided one chooses carefully. And, so too, the performances this past year by such present-day luminaries as Will Smith, Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and Laurence Fishburne bear favorable comparison with the stars of old. There was a surfeit of superior films in 2006, with solid moral underpinnings, so much so that narrowing the field down to 10 was more difficult than ever. From powerful anti-war films to inspirational true-life (though highly disparate) stories to a superior adaptation of a literary classic, they ran the proverbial gamut.

A tough year for aid workers in Darfur

WASHINGTON (CNS) – A church aid worker in Darfur said 2006 was tough for humanitarian workers but noted that the United States and United Nations have increased their efforts in the western Sudanese region. Mark Snyder, head of the North Sudan program for Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ international aid and development agency, said U.N. observers and logistical staff have been deployed to Darfur. The Sudanese government has agreed to set up a “protection force,” he said, without providing further detail.

Basilica seeks additional tour guides

Ruth Harrison of Churchville has visited famous churches throughout Europe and found her January tour of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to be among the best – made especially unique by the historical knowledge imparted by volunteer docent Frank Twardzik. The retired radiologist from Howard County, and his wife Barbara Twardzik, are among 50 volunteers who give guided tours of the newly restored Baltimore landmark and church leaders are ready to recruit additional men and women to join the Basilica’s legion of docents.

Bishop Madden awards medals of honor