Page 1876 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

Sister Mary Brigid Tembo took her first formation vows Jan. 6 in her journey to become a Sister of Bon Secours. More than 125 people attended the mass of first profession held at the Sisters of Bon Secours Provincial Chapel in Marriottsville. Of Zambian decent, Sister Brigid incorporated several African cultural elements into the Mass, including a symbolic dance she performed herself.

Mercy High freshman wins essay contest

Veronica Jones, a freshman Mercy High School, Baltimore, won first place in the 2007 Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest, sponsored by the YMCA of Central Maryland and the King’s Landing Women’s Service Club.

Bishop Mendez hopes to foster a “great social pact”

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNS) — Retired Bishop Fernando Lugo Mendez of San Pedro, Paraguay, who resigned from active ministry to run for president, said he hopes to foster a “great social pact” to achieve national reconciliation in a country with deep divisions. “I believe in collective leadership. … I’m no messiah,” Bishop Lugo, who is leading in opinion polls, told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview in mid-January. “Paraguay has a lot of very qualified people.”

Official decries passage of ‘misguided’ stem-cell bill

WASHINGTON (CNS) – A pro-life official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops criticized House passage Jan. 11 of a bill that would expand federal funding of stem-cell research that involves the destruction of human embryos, but expressed confidence that an expected presidential veto of the “misguided and unethical legislation” would stand. Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of the bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, said in a statement that the 253-174 vote indicated that there were not enough votes to override the veto that President George W. Bush has promised.

U.S. poverty called a major moral, policy challenge

WASHINGTON (CNS) – “Poverty remains our nation’s most serious political blind spot and one of our nation’s most profound moral failings,” says a new policy paper of Catholic Charities USA, “Poverty in America: A Threat to the Common Good.” The policy paper, published in the form of a 28-page booklet released Jan. 10 at a briefing on Capitol Hill, sets the framework for Catholic Charities’ new Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America.

Author looks to increase women’s Catholic fiction

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The message that women are worth more than their appearance, social status or monetary income is something that Catholic author Cheryl Dickow has tried to get across in her nonfiction books and now hopes also to do through fiction writing. The author of “Reclaiming Your Christian Self in a Secular World: A Woman’s Bible Study” and “Raising Christian Children in a Secular World: Christian Parenting,” has started a new publishing company, Bezalel Books, to address the dearth of women’s Catholic fiction.

SGA officers more than figureheads

When Jessica Butler of Hamilton was elected freshman class president at Towson Catholic High School last November, she didn’t realize how much work was involved. As the 14-year-old freshman thought about her demanding high school studies and sports events, on top of the planning sessions, constituent service time and Student Government Association meetings, she said the workload can seem overwhelming. “Most people don’t appreciate how much time and energy goes into being in student government,” Jessica said. “I know I didn’t beforehand.”

Sweethearts reunite after 50 years

Bernie Anderson met Catherine (Ashby) Anderson while attending Towson Catholic High School, Towson, some 50 years ago and after all those years, “she is still a beautiful lady,” Mr. Anderson said about his new bride. On Nov. 25, in front of more than 100 family, friends and old classmates, 75 year-old Mr. and Mrs. Anderson wed in the sun-filled chapel at the Carmelite Monastery in Baltimore.

Catholic Charities aims to cut poverty in half

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Catholic Charities USA Jan. 10 launched an ambitious campaign to cut poverty in America in half by 2020. “The poor do belong to us. … They are our brothers and sisters,” Father Larry Snyder, Catholic Charities USA president, told an overflow crowd at a Capitol Hill briefing announcing the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America. Noting that 37 million Americans – 12.6 percent of the population – currently live below the poverty line, he said Catholic Charities USA and its affiliates, working in partnership with government, the private sector and other nonprofits, will launch “a concentrated, systematic effort to cut poverty in half by 2020.”

Bishops reject embryonic stem-cell bill

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The U.S. bishops have urged the House of Representatives to reject an embryonic stem-cell bill that would fund research that involves the destruction of human embryos. Instead, they said, Congress should support research that would use available stem cells from adult tissues, cord blood, amniotic fluid and placentas. In a letter dated Jan. 9 and released Jan. 10, Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged House members to “consider the fundamental moral line” they would cross if they approved legislation on embryonic stem-cell research scheduled for a vote Jan. 11.

Using technology to proclaim Christ

ChristLife, an apostolate of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, has hit the podcasting waves in the archdiocese and is now providing young adults with practical ways to evangelize with the latest technology available: podcasting. The podcast can be downloaded onto a PC or iPod and can be accessed bi-weekly, free of charge.

Speaker Pelosi does not advance church agenda