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In a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Archbishop Curley cross country team, four seniors took part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., on Aug. 16. On that drizzly day, the four Friar senior runners, Tim Skarda, Pat Hairfield, Jonathan Sobczynski and Kevin Sommers, were chosen by Coach Gene Hoffman to serve as their four representatives to present the wreath, with 15 of their teammates on hand to line the walkway as “Taps” was played by the Honor Guard. But the weather had no bearing on the effect of this experience. Gene Hoffman, who is in his 31st year as head coach said, “To hear the Honor Guard announce that the wreath that honors this tomb was supplied by Archbishop Curley High School gave me chills.”

John E. Berg pointed into the distance ahead of him where the “old” cemetery could be seen on the slope of a hill on the 45-acres that encompass the parish of St. Joseph in Fullerton. “My great-grandparents are buried there,” said St. Joseph’s maintenance supervisor who, together with three full-time staff members, cares for the buildings and grounds of one of the largest parishes in the archdiocese with a membership of some 4,500 households. In the foreground lies the newer cemetery, and it is there that Mr. Berg’s grandparents and parents are buried. “And I’ll be buried there too,” he said. “My wife, Lois and I have plots here.”

WASHINGTON – Girls often dream of saying “I do” at the altar to their future spouse. Katrina Gredona hopes she’ll be saying those words to Jesus as a religious sister. “When I look at a community of religious women, I see women who contribute fruitfully to the church and to the world in a very special way and in a very essential way, and I think that’s exciting,” said Gredona, a student at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Ten years ago, Gredona’s interest in religious life would have been unique in comparison with the majority of other Catholic girls, as reports indicated a decline in the number of religious sisters in the United States. But recently campus ministers and the vocations directors of some women’s religious communities have been noticing a new trend of more young women looking into religious life.

“Teresa thought she was acting safely on the Internet. Within 20 minutes, we found out her full name, age, her parents’ names, her street address, phone number, the time of day she and her parents were home, and high schools near where she lived.” – from Tracking Teresa, NetSmartz video for teens If you think you’re up-to-date on the issue of Internet safety, think again, said Chris Weber, director of the archdiocese’s Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland housed at Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg.

LIMA, Peru – When it comes to dealing with disasters like the powerful earthquake that struck Peru’s southern coast Aug. 15, the Catholic Church has an advantage – the pastors know the people. In responding to an emergency, “you build on your strengths,” said Aaron Skrocki, South American emergency program manager for Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ overseas humanitarian and development agency. “Having a local (parish) community in place that knows the people better than any local government official does makes it much easier to get a response effort up and running.” Skrocki arrived in Peru the night after the earthquake and traveled Aug. 17 to Chincha, Pisco and Ica, the three cities nearest the epicenter.