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ROME – Adults have a debt to pay to today’s young people; “we owe them real values that will provide them with a foundation for their lives,” Pope Benedict XVI said. In a June 11 evening address to participants in the Diocese of Rome’s annual pastoral convention, the pope said all Catholic adults have a role to play in addressing the “education emergency” found in Italy and in other developed nations.

WASHINGTON – Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly of Louisville, Ky., and named Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Knoxville, Tenn., to succeed him. The changes were announced June 12 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Archbishop Kelly, a Dominican who turns 76 on July 14, has been a bishop since 1977 and head of the Louisville Archdiocese since 1982. Archbishop Kurtz, a 60-year-old priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Pa., was named bishop of Knoxville Oct. 26, 1999.

LONDON – A British cardinal said Muslims should join Catholics in fighting for “genuine religious freedom.”

Cardinal William H. Keeler has recognized St. Katharine Drexel in Frederick as its own independent parish. The news was announced June 10.

As part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s ongoing efforts to promote a safe environment for children, the Office of Child and Youth Protection met with parish youth contacts June 6 at Church of the Resurrection, Ellicott City, to discuss youth protection policies.

ROME – U.S. President George W. Bush praised the Catholic lay Community of Sant’Egidio for being part of an “international army of compassion” that helps the poor.

WASHINGTON – With the June 7 failure of a procedural vote intended to bring the bill to a vote, the Senate’s attempt to pass comprehensive immigration reform will go back behind the scenes, though the bill’s backers in both parties vowed to bring it to the floor again.

About 15 percent of children living in the United States between the ages of 10 and 18 can be classified as obese, said Dr. Robert Ancona, the head of pediatrics at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson.

College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore, now offers its master of arts in teaching program in Panama.

VATICAN CITY – More than two years into his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has proven to be a very patient decision-maker – so patient that even some of his Vatican bureaucrats are chafing a little.