I. In the Days of Their Ancestors Worthy Supreme Knight, Brother Bishops and Priests, Worthy State Deputies, and dear friends in Christ, at the risk of repeating myself, allow me to share with you this morning a story of evangelization and faith which I shared with the Board at one of its meetings earlier this...Read More

Now What? The election is over and from the Church’s perspective the results were mixed. The law known as the DREAM Act was upheld, giving immigrant students the same opportunities to achieve their dreams through education. The Church had advocated for its passage because we believe it gives children the best chance to fulfill their...Read More

I. Introduction To say the least, the Scribes and Pharisees are not well-regarded in the pages of the New Testament. They were often seen as petty, legalistic, jealous of their prerogatives, and they were bested when they try to engage Jesus in debate, usually to the delight of the crowds. They are also among those...Read More

I. Introduction Today’s saint, Martin de Porres, bears witness to the importance of prayer and humility in our interior lives and in our lives of service to others. In light of the Scripture readings we can see even more clearly what this beloved saint teaches us about following Christ as members of the family of...Read More

I. Introduction Saint Augustine, in his autobiography The Confessions, records so movingly his last moments with his mother, Saint Monica, as she lay dying, still only in her mid-fifties, in the Roman suburb of Ostia. Augustine and his brother were overcome with grief, and were discussing the practicalities of the funeral arrangements for their mother....Read More

A few weeks ago, I joined a group of ecumenical leaders at Morgan State University in support of the Dream Act. A reporter covering the event asked me how the Church could support the Dream Act but be against legalizing same sex marriage. Weren’t we being inconsistent, he wanted to know. I told the reporter...Read More

I. Introduction: The Bad News before the Good News During an election season, we are buffeted and surfeited with polls some of which seem to point in conflicting directions. For that reason I hesitate to bring up yet another poll but this one may well deserve our attention. Recently the Pew Foundation did a survey...Read More

Next week, a federal appeals court will hear arguments regarding John Merzbacher’s request to be released from prison. John Merzbacher was a teacher at Catholic Community School in South Baltimore who sexually abused and terrorized multiple children during the 1970s. Without getting into the legal technicalities, Merzbacher and his attorneys claim he was never made...Read More