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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Death penalty opponents in Tennessee are applauding Gov. Phil Bredesen’s decision to temporarily halt state executions to study the state’s protocol for carrying out death sentences, but they say it “doesn’t go nearly far enough.” Alex Wiesendanger, associate director of the Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing, called the move “a great first step,” but said “a full study of the entire system is needed” beyond the 90-day study of the state’s death penalty procedures.

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi proclaimed last month that this would be a Congress that remembers the children, I couldn’t help but think that this smart, savvy grandmother of 6, who now wields the most powerful gavel in the world, was forgetting someone – millions of unborn children.

There are few topics that will ignite tempers like religious beliefs, but a panel of spiritual leaders representing Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus and Muslims challenged about 75 people at St. Ignatius, Baltimore, to read the holy books of faiths other than their own. Ignorance of religious beliefs has not only created friction among neighbors throughout the history of the world, it’s resulted in the war-related carnage and bloody holocaust, members of the panel agreed, during a Feb. 12 discussion called “Building Community Across Religious Lines.”

Tony DeLuca knows what it’s like to be broke. Twelve years ago, he was laid off from a vending company and didn’t know how he would make his mortgage payment. That’s when a friend suggested he call his home parish of St. Dominic in Hamilton where his sons served as altar boys. Through St. Dominic’s St. Vincent de Paul Society, Mr. DeLuca got the help he needed. “I called and they responded so nicely,” said Mr. DeLuca, 59. “It was a great thing for them to do. I’ll never forget it.” Even though Mr. DeLuca now works three jobs, he has devoted much of his spare time reaching out to others in the community who are in the same kind of difficulty he endured more than a decade ago.

SALT LAKE CITY – Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, administrator of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, called on Catholics Feb. 13 to unite in prayer for victims of a shooting spree at a shopping mall and their families and for the gunman and his family. Five people were killed and at least four more were wounded in a shooting spree at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City Feb. 12. The gunman was fatally shot by police. Authorities were trying to figure out what sparked the rampage.

What a blessing young Theresa Hanntz of Metuchen, N.J., is to the prolife movement (CR, Feb. 8). However, it is not surprising to hear of the controversy her ideas created with Girl Scouts.

ST. LOUIS – Some Catholic and public high school officials in the St. Louis area said they are against a proposal to create separate state athletic championships for private and public schools. Private and public school educators and coaches contacted by the St. Louis Review, newspaper of the St. Louis Archdiocese, noted that their students enjoy the competition against each other. The proposal before the Missouri State High School Activities Association stems from a petition begun by Belle High School in Belle. It would apply to about a dozen sports played at the 506 public schools and 72 nonpublic schools in the association.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Like moviegoers everywhere, the 100-plus people who filled the auditorium at WGTE-TV in Toledo on a recent evening were looking forward to the show – complete with popcorn and beverages. But this was no ordinary “night at the movies.” It was the result of two years’ work and a partnership between Toledo’s public television and the eight congregations of women religious who serve in the area. The crowd gathered Jan. 17 for the premiere of “Hearts Afire,” a 30-minute made-for-PBS TV program which showcases the histories, contributions and contemporary lives of Catholic sisters who have been a part of the Toledo scene for more than 160 years. The program was broadcast to the public the following night at 8 p.m. as part of the station’s regular lineup.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI said people’s lives will be judged not on the basis of abstract ideals but on the concrete acts of charity. In a Feb. 10 talk to Italian volunteer groups that provide medical assistance and blood donation programs, the pope said the organizations were helping to spread the “Gospel of God’s love for all people.” Citing the Gospel of St. Matthew, he recalled that when Christ spoke of the last judgment he said people would be asked whether they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger and opened their hearts to the needy.