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BEIRUT, Lebanon – The May 25 election of Lebanon’s new president and an agreement signed by rival political leaders mark a fresh start for the country, said a Lebanese archbishop.

WATERLOO, Iowa – As the people arrested in a May 12 immigration raid in Iowa were processed and sent off to prison or deported, church leaders, pastoral ministers and community organizers in northeast Iowa struggled with what they called the tragic and devastating effects of the enforcement action.

Over the years, I have literally spent thousands of dollars on courses, classes and books in an effort to be of most help to couples in their marriages. So, naturally, one of the most helpful things I ever found was not in any of those courses, classes or books. It was something I found at a flea market! Tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humor.

Although I have visited all our parishes – however briefly in most cases – and a couple of dozen elementary schools to date, I’ve managed so far only a handful of high schools. In celebrating Mass for the students at Mount St. Joseph, Archbishop Curley and Calvert Hall, I have come to realize that the Archdiocese is rich in Catholic high schools, each of which is rich in tradition.

In the International News section of The Catholic Review (CR, May 22) a story ran under the headline, “Aliens may be part of creation,” in which a comment attributed to the Vatican’s chief astronomer, Fr. Jose Funes, S.J., read, “If aliens exist, they may be a part of creation that does not need Christ’s redemption.”

Gov. Martin J. O’Malley bowed to political pressure from pro-death penalty lawmakers when he directed the Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services to begin crafting rules for the use of lethal injections in state executions.

WASHINGTON – Two educators, a district court judge, a psychologist and a civic association leader will begin three-year terms on the National Review Board June 1. A judge and another psychologist also have been named to the board for terms beginning June 1, 2009.

WASHINGTON – World Youth Day events typically draw hundreds of thousands of youths and in some countries they have reached or surpassed the 1 million mark. This year’s event in Sydney, Australia, July 15-20 will be on a much smaller scale.