Standing beneath a large crucifix in the sanctuary of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge, Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., stretched out her arms and intently fixed her gaze on the hundreds of people who filled the pews Sept. 20.
Standing beneath a large crucifix in the sanctuary of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge, Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., stretched out her arms and intently fixed her gaze on the hundreds of people who filled the pews Sept. 20.

A few years ago, Dana Brower wasn’t sure if her son, Jonathan, would graduate from Calvert Hall College High School in Towson. Facing serious financial difficulties, the family didn’t have a way to pay tuition, she said. So Mrs. Brower met personally with Cardinal William H. Keeler and told him of her plight. Through his intercession, Jonathan graduated from Calvert Hall and is now a freshman history major at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

The defending MIAA A Conference soccer champs, the Archbishop Curley High School Friars, kicked their 2007 season off on Aug. 31 with a 5-0 win over Bullis School to open the Adidas Soccer Challenge. From there, the Baltimore school’s Friars reeled off an impressive 10-0 overall record going into the Sept. 19 Alumni Cup against MIAA A Conference opponent Calvert Hall College High School, Towson.
NEW YORK – The United States has a moral obligation to the people of Iraq that must be met regardless of when U.S. troops ultimately withdraw from that country.
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Moscow to head the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev in Belarus.
WASHINGTON – As a Sept. 30 deadline looms for Congress to extend the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and presidential candidates roll out the details of their plans for health care reform, new evidence is emerging that churches play an important role in filling the gaps in the current system.
VATICAN CITY – Prison doors may be locked shut, but people must not close their eyes to the inmates behind bars.

SEWARD, Neb. – The 23 newcomers attending St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward this fall are “full of questions, obviously prayerful and eager to learn,” said Father John Folda, seminary rector. “They’re going to be a great group of seminarians, I have no doubt,” he added. Among them are 19 young men who are in priestly formation for the Diocese of Lincoln. The other four new men are studying for the priesthood for either the Diocese of Rockford, Ill., or the Diocese of Madison, Wis. One student studying for Lincoln is from the Canadian province of Manitoba. Father Folda said it is the largest group to enter St. Gregory the Great all at once, but everything has gone smoothly in terms of course scheduling, housing, books and all the other particulars. The first-year class of seminarians is one of the largest in any diocese in the United States. “God smiled upon us,” he said with a laugh. “He knew he was going to give us a lot of men this year.” “We’re very blessed by God,” agreed Father Robert Matya, diocesan vocations director. The first-year seminarians moved in Aug. 24, had a weekend of orientation and started classes Aug. 27. Since then, they have been getting to know each other and the seminary faculty, studying and learning to adapt to a schedule that can be quite a bit different from what they were used to as students or workers.
WARSAW, Poland – The head of Poland’s military diocese has accused Islamic militants of seeking revenge for a Polish-led victory over the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century and urged Christians to prevent Europe being turned into “Euro-Arabia.”
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy – Pope Benedict XVI urged bishops in Benin to strengthen the sense of Christian marriage among Catholics.

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Astefan Zrow Yousef was scared for his family. He was scared of the persecution they endured because of their Chaldean Catholic faith. He was scared they would be forced to abandon their faith. And he was scared they would be killed for trying to escape from their life in Iraq. For much the same reason, Issa Toma, his wife, Nano, and their families had already fled from Iraq to the safety of Turkey. Both men had a common goal – to live with their families in peace – and now they and their families have been resettled in the Detroit Archdiocese with the help of the archdiocese and other agencies.
About 50 parishioners gathered at St. Margaret, Bel Air, for the parish’s first-ever Mass of Healing and Hope on Sept. 19, which supported those who struggle with addiction.
