Baltimore Christian leaders used the backdrop of Ash Wednesday and props of dead soldier’s combat boots as they called President Bush’s Iraq War policies immoral and urged Maryland’s faithful to take part in an organized anti-war rally in Washington. The 13 religious leaders from varying Christian faiths – which included Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden...Read More
When pastoral leaders from the westernmost corner of Maryland participate in archdiocesan meetings, it often means a 165-mile trek to Baltimore. Monsignor Thomas Bevan, pastor of St. Patrick in Cumberland, hopes the travel burden will be lightened now that his parish has opened a new media/teleconference center that will soon make it possible to see...Read More
The St. Agnes Foundation will honor Albert “Skip” and Margie Counselman by presenting them with the Caritas Award at the annual spring gala, March 24 at M&T Bank Stadium. The award is given each year to a couple who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to St. Agnes Healthcare and the Baltimore community.Read More
VATICAN CITY – Although the Global Positioning System has made meridians obsolete in mapmaking, a group of geographers used the GPS to mark the exact spot where the old prime meridian of Italy passed through the Vatican. Standing at the end of a technologically guaranteed straight line of flower pots, the geographers and Vatican officials...Read More
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI will canonize a Brazilian Franciscan during his May trip to Brazil and will declare four other new saints in June. During a prayer service in the Apostolic Palace Feb. 23, the pope set May 11 as the date for the canonization of Blessed Antonio Galvao, an 18th-century Franciscan and...Read More
DETROIT – One of the world’s foremost Catholic preachers told a Feb. 16-18 gathering of more than 3,000 people involved in the charismatic renewal movement that they should be focusing more on the future than on the movement’s past. Even as they gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the charismatic movement, Capuchin Father Raniero...Read More
OXFORD, England – Pope Benedict XVI expressed support for an archbishop who resigned because of links to communist-era secret police. “I would like, above all, to offer words of encouragement, inviting you to stride forward with confidence and peace in your heart,” Pope Benedict said in a letter to former Warsaw Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus. “I...Read More
NAIROBI, Kenya – Three FBI representatives are expected to testify in early March at an inquest into the death of Mill Hill Father John Kaiser, a U.S. missionary who died in Kenya in August 2000. Mbuthi Gathenji, a lawyer representing the Catholic Church and Father Kaiser’s family, said Feb. 21 that the officials were expected...Read More
As the small jet carrying 10-year-old Xavia Pirozzi’s new heart approached Philadelphia International Airport the evening of Jan. 5, there was a 20 percent chance the aircraft would not be able to land in the dense fog. Inside the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Xavia’s parents, Nicolle Borys-Pirozzi and Ralph Pirozzi, waited anxiously, knowing the fog...Read More
For months, school children, fellow parents, school and parish staff and parishioners of St. Joseph, Fullerton, have been diligently rooting for the Pirozzi family, specifically Xavia Pirozzi, a St. Joseph fifth grader who received a heart transplant Jan. 6. Through fundraisers, personal assistance, and an online hospital “care page,” love, encouragement, and support have poured...Read More
VATICAN CITY – Continuing an 80-year-old papal tradition, Pope Benedict XVI is canceling regular audiences and clearing his calendar to make a weeklong Lenten retreat. The spiritual exercises not only shut down the normal business of his pontificate, but also place the pope in the unusual position of doing all the listening and none of...Read More
VATICAN CITY – During a 90-minute question-and-answer session with pastors from the Diocese of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the priests to face challenges with trust that God’s love will have the last word. The pope’s remarks were punctuated by applause and laughter, including his own, as he responded Feb. 22 to questions about youth...Read More