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ROME – With prayers, song and formal oaths in Latin, officials of the Diocese of Rome concluded the initial phase of the process for the canonization of Pope John Paul II. During this phase, more than 120 people who knew Pope John Paul were interviewed about his actions and character, and studies were conducted on his ministry, the way he handled suffering and how he faced his death, said Cardinal Camillo Ruini, papal vicar of Rome. “In the certainty of being loved by God and in the joy of responding to that love,” the late pope “found the meaning, unity and aim of his life,” Cardinal Ruini said during a prayer service in the Basilica of St. John Lateran April 2, the second anniversary of Pope John Paul’s death.

Within the last several years, a wave of Catholic school closings has hit several big cities. In 2005 alone, the archdioceses of Chicago and Detroit each closed 18 schools and the Diocese of Brooklyn closed 19 schools. The Archdiocese of Baltimore closed or consolidated 10 schools over the last several years, and the Diocese of Rochester, N.Y., closed or merged 11. To prevent more schools from shutting their doors, many dioceses are looking at alternative approaches to Catholic education. The days are long gone when schools were strictly parish-based institutions that relied on women religious, priests and brothers to serve as teachers and staff.

WORCESTER, Mass. – California businessman Tom Brady Sr. didn’t come to the seventh annual Worcester Diocesan Men’s Conference to tell Hollywood-ready tales about a Super Bowl-winning son and a family leading perfect lives. He came to tell the truth – and to challenge area Catholic men to use their faith to deal with life’s pressures.

VATICAN CITY – The working world must not just be about competition and productivity; today’s workers must also make room for charity and defending human dignity, said Pope Benedict XVI. “Today more than ever it’s urgent and necessary” to live as Christians in the workplace and to become “apostles among workers,” the pope said. “Becoming more competitive and productive is not the only thing that matters,” he said in a message to young people. “Paying charitable witness” in the workplace and elsewhere is necessary, he said.

HULBERT, Okla. – With a crisp spring breeze in the air, more than 175 volunteers from throughout the southwestern United States came together March 10 to assist the Benedictine monks of Our Lady of Clear Creek Monastery near Hulbert in northeastern Oklahoma. The effort, which was organized by Tulsan Dan Doyle, assisted the monks with a number of construction and maintenance duties on the 1,050-acre ranch where they are building a monastery near Hulbert. When completed, the 70,000-square-foot monastery – including the monks’ residence and church – will cost an estimated $32 million.

LOS ANGELES – Buoyed by the resounding defeat of an assisted suicide bill in Vermont March 21, opponents of AB 374 – the California Compassionate Choices Act – are stepping up statewide campaign efforts against the measure proposing the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. Members of Californians Against Assisted Suicide, a diverse coalition that includes medical professionals, disability rights groups, pro-life advocates and religious leaders, are actively lobbying legislators to reject AB 374.