According to U.S. Lacrosse, America’s first sport is rapidly becoming one of its favorite sports and the growth shows no signs of slowing. Adding to those statistics is St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, with the start of their boys’ lacrosse program. Head coach Rev. Derrick Truesdale, a former lacrosse player himself, is now steadily focused on...Read More
Though Father Joseph G. Bochenek finds everlasting solace in his Catholic faith, the 62-year-old pastor of St. Brigid, Canton, has discovered the four hours of karate he studies each week keeps him nimble and in top form. A fan of Eastern disciplines, Father Bochenek joins 20 other disciples in a basement martial arts studio in...Read More
Steve Spurrier has been a member of St. Pius X, Rodgers Forge, since the day he was baptized, some 44 years ago. Now married with three children he is active in marriage preparatory classes, coaching sports teams in the parish and school and playing the drums for the group “40 more days” which helps celebrate...Read More
VATICAN CITY – While local government officials in some parts of China arrest Catholics, authorities in other areas of the country are tolerating, or even encouraging, Catholic charitable activity. A growing number of Catholic dioceses on the mainland have established a Caritas organization and are expanding their social service work. Representatives of four Chinese diocesan...Read More
ROME – Muslims and Catholics in the United States need to develop educational programs that will give all of their faithful an accurate picture of the beliefs of the other, said two clerics experienced in Muslim-Catholic dialogue. Father Francis V. Tiso, associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious...Read More
PHILADELPHIA – Pennsylvania has become the latest state to approve the use of a “Choose Life” specialty license plate. The plates were approved last November and became available for purchase in January. The cost per plate is $40. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation receives $20, and the other $20 is an annual membership fee in...Read More
Anyone looking for a quick way to send a card for the Lenten season online should check out the Web site of the Redemptorists of the Denver Province. The site, www.redemptorists-denver.org, now offers electronic cards, called e-cards, for the Lenten season, Easter and Good Friday. There are also cards for respect for life, birthdays, Mother’s...Read More
Seven-year-old John Cirincione shows up with his entire family for religious education classes on Sundays at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Baynesville. His dad Paul settles him into his classroom while his mom, Robin, prepares a separate classroom as teacher of a preschoolers’ religious education class. The Cirinciones are parishioners of Immaculate and also have two...Read More
RIVERVIEW, Mich. – There’s an alternative to fish for some Michigan Catholics abstaining from meat on Fridays in Lent – muskrat. The custom of eating muskrat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays in Lent apparently goes back to the early 1800s, the time of Father Gabriel Richard, an early missionary in Michigan whose flock included French-Canadian...Read More
FRANKFORT, Ill. – Support from people in the U.S. is important to the nation’s troops who are serving in Iraq and must continue, especially for soldiers “in harm’s way,” a military chaplain told a congregation in the Diocese of Joliet. Father John Hannigan, a priest of the Chicago Archdiocese, has been has been on leave...Read More
VATICAN CITY – Taking advantage of new media to spread the Gospel, the Catholic Church also has an obligation to point out areas where the media has a harmful effect, especially on children, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope called on media operators “to safeguard the common good, to uphold the truth, to protect individual...Read More
UNITED NATIONS – While lauding the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women for adopting resolutions on ending female genital mutilation and addressing forced and early marriage, its work is not complete until it also addresses “the important issues of prenatal sex selection, infanticide and son preference,” said Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent observer...Read More