Page 1837 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

WASHINGTON – Scripture readings were interspersed with testimonies from a U.S. soldier, Iraqis and the mother of a slain National Guard sergeant at a crowded prayer vigil March 16 that kicked off weekend anti-war protests in Washington and around the country. With nearly 3,000 people packed into the Episcopal Church’s National Cathedral and hundreds more in overflow space at other churches, Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Baptist, Mennonite, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Quaker and Seventh-day Adventist leaders set the stage for a late-night march to the White House in bitter cold wind and snow.

Bowie Kuhn dies at age 80

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who died in a Jacksonville hospital March 15 at age 80 from respiratory failure following a bout with pneumonia, once said he wanted to be remembered simply “as a good Catholic man.” In a 1999 interview with The Long Island Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Mr. Kuhn said his faith was his anchor throughout his life. “My church taught me the importance of right and wrong,” he said, explaining that the church gave him the tools to stay on that path, as well as the sacraments.

Joy involves discipline, freedom

ROME – Pope Benedict XVI visited a Rome juvenile detention center and told young people that true happiness involves discipline as well as freedom. The pope celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Casal del Marmo Prison for Minors March 18, then met with the 49 young detainees in a gym. Greeting them individually, he gave each one a blessing and a rosary. The young people, including many immigrants and non-Catholics, said they were moved by the fact that a pope would take time to visit them.

Emerging U.S. consecrated communities

WASHINGTON – In a new directory the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate has identified 165 U.S. Catholic communities of consecrated life that have sprung up since 1965. A little more than half of the 152 communities that provided membership information by gender admit only women, CARA said, while 24 percent admit only men and 25 percent have men and women members. Of those 152, in 87 communities all make public vows or promises; in 43, all make private vows or promises; 10 have both vowed and unvowed members; and members do not make vows or promises in 12 communities. In all, the communities in the directory had more than 1,300 full members and several hundred members in formation.

Re-entry Partnership leads to freedom, confidence

The requirement to participate in a March 15 commencement of a Catholic Charities program was to stay out of prison for two years. But for the 23 graduates of the Baltimore-based Maryland Re-entry Partnership, the ceremony celebrated a new outlook on life. “If you told me three years ago I wouldn’t be back in prison right now, I wouldn’t have believed you,” said John Lightner, 45, of Woodlawn, a graduate who has been in and out of prison since he was 18. “But now, I can’t imagine ever going back.”

Catholic leaders optimistic despite defeat

Despite last week’s defeat of a bill to ban the death penalty in Maryland, Catholic leaders are encouraged that the abolitionist cause appears to have gathered significant strength after many years of frustrated efforts. Senate Bill 211, which would have replaced the death penalty with prison sentences of life without parole, was killed March 15 in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on a 5-5 vote. The bill needed six votes to go the Senate floor.

No need to tighten anti-abortion laws

WARSAW, Poland – A Polish archbishop has said there is no need to tighten anti-abortion laws by amending the Polish Constitution. “I’m convinced our constitution protects life decisively enough at this moment,” said Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski of Gdansk. “The stable situation now created should prompt us not to take actions which could dramatize or complicate things even more.” The archbishop told Poland’s Catholic information agency, KAI, March 11 that people have the “right to life from conception to natural death – if we want to be Christians, we should never abandon this.”

The church whisperer

WILMINGTON, Del. – Here’s how Rocco Palmo announced his appearance at the March 22 Theology on Tap session in Wilmington in his blog, Whispers in the Loggia: “Two nights later … it’s a short trip down I-95 to Wilmington and another ToT, this time for Bishop Mickey and Co., offering some reflections and” – whoa! Did he say Bishop Mickey? He did. If Bishop Michael Saltarelli is startled by the chummy reference, it could be worse. Mr. Palmo’s nickname for his hometown’s archbishop, Cardinal Justin Rigali, is “Pharaoh.” Mr. Palmo’s blog also features occasional references to “Fluffiness” and “The Fluff” – that would be Pope Benedict XVI, so-dubbed, Mr. Palmo says, because of his wispy white hair. Mr. Palmo, 24 and single, has created buzz in certain church circles for Whispers, which he writes from his home in South Philadelphia.

‘Grandma’ Dixon serving others at age 91

Although the entire room calls Dorothy Dixon “Grandma,” she has no grandchildren. The 91-year-old soup kitchen coordinator answers to the pet name from some 100 community members who visit St. Cecilia, Baltimore, on Thursdays to eat a hot supper. The lively Ms. Dixon walks three blocks daily from her home that she shares with her 86-year-old sister, Lucille Talley, to serve her parish of 53 years. Her first self-appointed duty is to feed the birds.

Confession helps those with ‘guilt complexes’

VATICAN CITY – Many people today seem to have a difficult time recognizing sin, but at the same time the number of people suffering from “guilt complexes” seems to be growing, Pope Benedict XVI said. “We see a humanity that wants to be self-sufficient, where not a few maintain they can do without God and still live well, and yet so many seem sadly condemned to face dramatic situations” of emptiness, violence and solitude, the pope said March 16.

Ceramics class teaches charity at Loyola

As Loyola Blakefield, Towson, senior Garrett Winand puts the final touches on a bowl he is making in his ceramics class, the 17-year-old is reminded his craftsmanship is bound for a March 24 fundraising event to feed the hungry of Baltimore. The Church of the Nativity, Timonium, parishioner said he is pleased representatives from Beans & Bread Outreach Center in Fells Point and Sarah’s Hope in Northeast Baltimore County will fill his bowl with food as part of a fundraiser for the St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore programs. “It’s good to know it’ll be used for a worthy cause,” he said. “I never imagined that something I made in an art class might help the homeless.”

U.S. needs ‘more humane’ policy on immigration