As 2008 begins, the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul, Baltimore, will order all makeshift tents used by the homeless in the park adjacent to the church to come down.
As 2008 begins, the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul, Baltimore, will order all makeshift tents used by the homeless in the park adjacent to the church to come down.
I read with interest the debate on school sports during the holidays and on Sundays (CR, Dec. 13). It is God who gives us the power to win, not incessant practices. With one exception, the Ravens have had a losing season (they didn’t look too good in the games they won). Before the Patriots game Ray Lewis led his fellow University of Miami alumni in prayer and dedicated the game to their murdered friend. We would have beaten the Patriots, the best team in the NFL, had the whole team prayed.
Patricia Zapor’s CNS article (CR, Dec. 13) about Mitt Romney’s speech on religion and public life at the GHW Bush Library in College Station, Texas, contains a glaring omission.
People have a tendency to forget the term “vocations” includes sisters, deacons and brothers. Actually, people are inclined to forget it includes priests as well, said Father Gerard Francik, director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Brother Jim Horan, S.J., likens likens his vocation as a Jesuit brother to the ground crew of an airline fleet.
The 18th annual Heartfest, which will be held on Jan. 26 at Martin’s West, will honor, among others, Brady Vontran, the teenage heart patient who founded Brady’s Heart Foundation. Mr. Vontran is a senior at Calvert Hall College High School, Towson.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI welcomed Christmas as a “day of great hope” and said its message of peace is sorely needed in a world beset by war, poverty and injustice.
KAUKAUNA, Wis. – A Wisconsin man accused of causing his pregnant girlfriend’s abortion by spiking her drink with RU-486 is being prosecuted under the Wisconsin fetal homicide law that classifies unborn children as potential crime victims.

LONDON – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair became a Catholic during a private ceremony in London. Mr. Blair, previously an Anglican, was received into full communion with the Catholic Church by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster. Mr. Blair was sponsored at the Mass of reception by his wife, Cherie, a Catholic.

ANNAPOLIS – With issues like same-sex marriage, the death penalty and immigration likely to dominate much of the upcoming session of the Maryland General Assembly, it’s shaping up to be a contentious year in Annapolis.
The Division of Youth and Young Adult Ministry is shifting from a focus on young adult programs to an approach they hope will infuse young adults throughout parish life.
Is your first memory the lights in the delivery room at St. Agnes Hospital? Well, OK, you probably don’t remember, but if you were born at St. Agnes Hospital, they want you back.
