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I was the youngest of seven children. My father grew up in Frostburg in Western Maryland, and worked in the coal mines. In those days young men either stayed working in the mines or moved north to Pittsburgh. My father was the exception, moving east to Baltimore where he got a job as a purser on the Emma Giles, a side wheeler that carried passengers and some cargo from the Baltimore harbor to places on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

When I tackled the ramifications of the new Roman Missal translation, I pondered what it would mean for ex-Catholics or “fallaway Catholics.” Of course, there has been a split amongst Catholics who do attend church about the translations, which were implemented last week after months of preparations. It took a gigantic amount of effort and […]

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI urged international leaders to reach a credible agreement on climate change, keeping in mind the needs of the poor and of future generations.

  Sister Sarah works in her classroom. (Photo by Erik M. Lunsford elunsford@post-dispatch.com) Sister Sarah Heger cut through a tray of raw chicken with a knife and let her fifth-grade class of girls squirm for only a second. A science exam loomed, and the petite nun didn’t waste time preparing them. She wrangled the meat […]

WASHINGTON – Confronted with what one called “a choice between our faith and our jobs,” 12 nurses are suing University Hospital in Newark, N.J., over a new policy requiring them to care for patients before and after abortions, even if they have religious or moral objections to abortion.

VATICAN CITY – The head of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said a “doctrinal preamble” presented by the Vatican needs changes before it can be accepted as the basis for the group’s reconciliation.