VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI baptized 16 infants and told their parents and godparents that prayer and the sacraments will give them the strength and guidance they need to promote a child’s true well-being.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI baptized 16 infants and told their parents and godparents that prayer and the sacraments will give them the strength and guidance they need to promote a child’s true well-being.
Sounding the alarm about poverty in Maryland, the state’s bishops called on Catholics to urge lawmakers to “make decisions, pass legislation and appropriate public money in a manner that is charitable, just and reflective of our shared human dignity.”
Pope Benedict XVI today named Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, 72, to the College of Cardinals. As Cardinal, Cardinal-designate O’Brien will serve as an advisor to the Pope and be eligible to vote in a Papal election until his 80th birthday. A consistory to formally elevate the new Cardinals will be held at the Vatican on […]
Pope Benedict XVI presents the pallium to Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien in 2008 in Rome. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) Pope Benedict XVI announced today that Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and pro-grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, will become
John Gehring, a former writer for The Catholic Review, has a provocative piece on The Huffington Post: “The Catholic Case Against Rick Santorum.” It’s easy to see why Santorum might appeal to some culturally conservative Catholics and moderate evangelicals who are wary of Democrats but also turned off by the
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A masked man was fatally shot by an Albuquerque police officer Jan. 4 moments after the suspect stole a safe from the Albuquerque Catholic Center, pulled a gun on a security guard and possibly fired shots at the officer in an apparent attempt to get away, according to the Albuquerque Police Department.

WASHINGTON – With election-year politics pretty much guaranteed to clog up the process of passing legislation this year even more than partisan posturing did in 2011, Washington wish lists for policy and legislation are brief and heavy on defensive thinking.
SAN FRANCISCO – The Western Association of the Knights of Malta, based in San Francisco, is sponsoring a contest for the creation of 30-second and 45-second pro-life video public service announcements.

WASHINGTON – The priestly ministry of Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, named a cardinal Jan. 6 by Pope Benedict XVI, has been marked by frequent assignments, so that he rarely stays in one place very long. And even when he is ensconced somewhere for a while, he gets to moving.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Here is the list of the 22 cardinals-designate, in the order in which Pope Benedict XVI announced them today:

MANILA, Philippines – Residents of a small mining community in the southern Philippines continued mining for gold Jan. 5 despite a landslide that swept through their village and government warnings to evacuate, a Catholic priest said.
