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BUCHAREST, Romania – Historians and communist-era diplomats have cast doubts on a former Romanian general’s claim that he helped with a KGB plot to portray Pope Pius XII as a Nazi sympathizer in order to weaken the Catholic Church. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa, a Romanian intelligence chief under dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, said that between 1960 and 1962 he recruited three Romanian spies to disguise themselves as priests and gain access to the Vatican Secret Archives. Their objective was to steal documents for the KGB, the former Russian secret police and intelligence agency, so the documents could be manipulated as evidence against Pope Pius, who died in 1958, said Mr. Pacepa.

WASHINGTON – In a case that hinges on procedural questions of when a taxpayer has the legal standing to challenge how the administration spends money appropriated by Congress, the Supreme Court is being asked to open the door to legal fights over President George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative. The only question before the court is the fairly dry issue of whether taxpayers have standing under the Establishment Clause of the Constitution to challenge actions of the executive branch that are only indirectly financed through general appropriations by Congress.

In a press conference at Towson High School Feb. 26, St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson, The Maryland State Department of Education and Congressman Elijah Cummings announced an anabolic steroids and supplements awareness campaign. This new campaign will address the issue of anabolic steroid abuse and educate Maryland middle and high school students, parents, coaches and teachers. A new Web site, www.poweredbymemd.com, has been developed to inform individuals of the danger of steroids and supplements while offering safe alternatives. A speaker’s bureau and special events have been created to reach out to the medical community, youths, parents and educators.

International peace worker Arthur Romano, Holocaust survivor Nesse Godin, documentary film producer Martin Doblmeier and music therapist Dr. Deforia Lane will present keynote addresses March 12-16 at Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, during the third annual Calling Conference.

WASHINGTON – Three themes run through black America, according to the Rev. Robert Franklin: celebration of heroic individual and collective achievement; closure of persistent racial gaps in such areas as education and health; and anxiety about losing ground and “mobilizing to reverse negative trend lines.” Rev. Franklin, author of the new book “Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities,” believes there is much about which to be anxious.

LONDON – A British Catholic aid agency has demanded that charges are dropped against a British activist who was arrested in Angola. Sarah Wykes, who works for the nongovernmental organization Global Witness, was taken from her hotel Feb. 18 by armed police in the oil-rich province of Cabinda and imprisoned amid accusations of espionage. She was released on bail three days later but never was given details of the charges, and is forbidden to leave the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Bishops in the Philippines have expressed concern over potential human rights violations which could result from an anti-terrorism bill. Bishop Martin Jumoad of Isabela said that, although he is “glad” the Human Security Act was passed by Congress, an independent body is needed to avoid such violations. “There should be another body of civil society that will evaluate or analyze the implementation,” he told UCA News, an Asian church news agency, Feb. 28.

The Eucharist was desecrated at St. Anthony Shrine in Emmitsburg after a frustrated thief or thieves apparently exacted revenge for failing to open a safe and poor box, according to Sister Marietta Culhane, O.S.F., temporary pastoral life director of St. Anthony and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Thurmont. A cleaning lady discovered the open tabernacle and consecrated hosts strewn on the church floor Feb. 2. Police and archdiocesan officials were immediately notified.

Eleventh-grader Mary J. Maclean, a student at Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, was one of six winners in Maryknoll’s 2006 annual student essay contest. Mary won $300 for second place out of 4,000 students writing on the topic, “Continuing the Mission.” Students nationwide wrote about where they would go and what they would do if they were missioners to share God’s love with people.

VATICAN CITY – If he looked around the chapel during his Lenten retreat this year, Pope Benedict XVI would have seen an all-male assembly. The absence of women was not deliberate. The invitation to attend the pope’s spiritual exercises goes out to the top two or three officials of Vatican agencies, and almost all of them are men. The retreat chapel offered a snapshot of a Vatican reality: The number of women working in the Roman Curia has steadily increased but, with rare exceptions, they have not broken through to the upper levels.