VATICAN CITY – An Italian animal rights group called on Pope Benedict XVI to stop wearing fur out of “respect for the sacredness of the lives of all living creatures.” The Italian Anti-Vivisection League made the appeal ahead of the pope’s April 22 visit to the Italian city of Pavia, where he was to receive...Read More
UPDATED WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision April 18. The ruling was lauded by abortion opponents, including President George W. Bush, who called partial-birth abortion an “abhorrent procedure” in an April 18 statement from the White House. “Today’s decision affirms that the Constitution does not...Read More
ROANOKE, Va. – Deacon Michael J. Ellerbrock of St. Mary Parish in Blacksburg had just wrapped up his 9 a.m. class at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg April 16 “when it all happened,” he said. A gunman, later identified by police as student Cho Seung-Hui, shot and killed two people in a residence hall and then...Read More
LONDON – A revised code of ethics will prevent doctors from providing contraceptives and abortion referrals at a London Catholic hospital popular with celebrity mothers. The finalized code, which is expected to be passed by the hospital board May 16, will encompass all staff and resident practitioners at the Hospital of St. John and St....Read More
Maryland parishioners will have an opportunity to help educate the future priests of the Archdiocese of Baltimore when the second-collection plate is passed to them the weekend of May 5 and 6. Last year parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore raised more than $300,000 to help pay for the education of the seminarians enrolled in...Read More
Dina Nagdimunova admits that much of what she learns in her finance textbooks at Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, is forgotten soon after exams. That’s why she thinks it’s important to apply what she studies in class in real-world situations. Ms. Nagdimunova, a 21-year-old senior who was born in Russia, serves as a paid intern...Read More
In the April 12 issue, a book review reprinted from Catholic News Service praised “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore’s book that accompanies his movie of the same name. A central theme of Gore’s efforts is to assert that we have a moral obligation to take action against carbon dioxide emissions. We read “The final 15...Read More
When St. Ursula, Parkville, parishioner Susan Livingston graduates from College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore, in May and enters the workforce, she will suddenly be responsible for her own finances. The 22-year-old Parkville resident has had a few job interviews, but no concrete offers for when she earns her bachelor’s degree in history with...Read More
In his book “Dumbing Down Our Kids,” author Charles Sykes wrote, “If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.” When entering a new workplace, whether just out of college or not, it is important to know proper office etiquette, dining etiquette and dress attire. Natalie Kauffman,...Read More
WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s Catholic bishops criticized legislators’ rejection of proposed constitutional amendments that would have protected life from the moment of conception. “Arbitrary parliamentary arithmetic has won the upper hand over each person’s elementary right to life,” said the bishops in a statement April 13. “The church in Poland will go on supporting actions...Read More
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The April 16 shooting spree at Virginia Tech that left at least 33 people dead is “tremendously sad,” said Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo of Richmond. In a phone interview just hours after the shootings, Teresa Volante, Catholic campus minister at Virginia Tech, said she had sent out an electronic notice that the...Read More
For the last seven lacrosse seasons, Archbishop Curley, Baltimore, has seen their program slowly, but surely, improve. After a solid effort in 2006, the Friars were edged out of the championship game by a lone goal in the semis against Park School, Baltimore; but now in 2007, the Friars are on a tear, undefeated and...Read More