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ST. LOUIS – Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty is calling for the state’s General Assembly to enact a three-year moratorium on executions in the state and to create a commission to examine the death penalty system. Nearly 300 groups in the state, including the four Catholic dioceses and numerous parishes, have endorsed a moratorium. On Good Friday last year the Missouri bishops issued a pastoral letter opposing executions, stating that more violence “is not a solution to society’s problems.”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Africa’s Catholic bishops need a structure to enable them to speak and act as one unit, said Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. “The time is ripe for this, not only because of the many challenges Africa faces, but because the church has the resources to be able to tackle these problems,” he said in a Jan. 17 telephone interview from Dares Salaam, Tanzania, where the symposium met Jan. 15-22.

ATLANTA – Starting this January, students at Emory University in Atlanta have the chance to learn about famous Catholics as part of a new Catholic studies minor at the liberal arts university. The program is the only such minor in the country at a non-Catholic college or university, according to Emory officials.

As a Catholic and reader of The Catholic Review, I am writing in connection with the article “Mercy VP travels to Africa,” (CR, Jan. 4). While the article points to the fact that the recruitment of nurses from Kenya is a “win-win” arrangement for Mercy Hospital and the individual nurses who may be recruited, the article fails to point out the devastating effect that the brain drain of doctors and nurses from Kenya and other developing countries is having on the health care systems of those countries.

JERUSALEM (CNS) — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said he “admired the spirit of the (Palestinian) people” in the face of hardships in the Gaza Strip. Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., said he was “really impressed” by the vision of Msgr. Manuel Musallam of Holy Family Parish in Gaza. His vision is to build “a sense of unity for all people in the Holy Land including Muslims, Christians and Jews” despite the difficult conditions in which the parishioners live, the bishop said.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Catholic Campaign for Human Development has been waging a new media campaign to raise awareness in the nation, especially among the nation’s Catholics, about the extent and impact of poverty in America. “Right now in America 37 million people are working to become independent while struggling to afford the very basics necessary for survival — food, shelter, clothing, child care and medical care,” said Timothy Collins, CCHD executive director.

Some graduates go back just for the sandwiches. The buffalo chicken wrap is popular, as is The Kevin Special: hot roast beef, melted provolone, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, onions, lettuce and French fries (yes, French fries) wrapped in a flour tortilla. Both are favorites of students and alumni in the dining hall at Loyola Blakefield, Towson.

After each monthly Mass at St. John’s Catholic Prep, Frederick, students comment, “This is the best Mass we’ve ever had!” Angie Galleno, director of campus ministry, said the students’ enthusiasm stems from a new facet of school liturgies – the Praise & Worship Band – composed of 15 singers and musicians from within the student body. New for the 2006-07 school year, the band was conceived as a way to make school liturgies more engaging for students.