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BELFAST, Northern Ireland – A Belfast-based Passionist priest said Northern Irish Catholics feel “joy and relief” that British military operations in the region have come to an end. Father Aidan Troy, known for his mediation role in the 2001 Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School dispute when Protestant protesters blocked access to the school, told Catholic News Service he hopes that “children in the North will never again have to witness the spectacle of armed troops patrolling the streets.” In the Catholic community, “there (have been) obviously mixed feelings. But we’re overwhelmingly relieved that operations have come to an end,” said the priest at Holy Cross Parish in the working-class Ardoyne suburb of Belfast. Father Troy said he hoped that the end of Operation Banner would mark the end of “a very sad chapter in the history of Ireland.”

GARY, Ind. – While little is known of the quiet, gentle man who served as the protector and human father of Jesus, the image of Joseph as a carpenter invokes creative thoughts of how he might have served his God and neighbors. With this fatherly saint as inspiration, St. John the Evangelist Parish in St. John has launched a new endeavor – the St. Joseph the Carpenter ministry. Defined in their mission statement as a diverse group of people in service to the less fortunate, the group vows to help “restore the dignity of our brothers and sisters in Christ through love, compassion and home-repair assistance.”

DETROIT – Donald Veryser, a member of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in suburban Grosse Pointe Woods, was among the many supporters of Capuchin Father Solanus Casey’s cause for sainthood who came to St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit July 28-29 to pray for his beatification.

Witnessing the induction of former Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken Jr. into the Baseball Hall of Fame July 29 was a heady experience for St. Ignatius, Hickory, parishioner Ernie Tyler. While attending the Cooperstown, N.Y., festivities caused the 83-year-old to end a baseball era of his own – Mr. Tyler missed his first home game as an umpire’s attendant for the Baltimore Orioles since 1960– he said he could think of no better reason to end his 3,769-game streak. “It’s actually a good feeling that my streak is over,” said the father of 11, whose number of in-season home games was posted at Oriole Park July 27, the game before he left for Cooperstown. “It takes the pressure off.”