VATICAN CITY – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited Pope Benedict XVI to visit the United Nations headquarters in New York during a private meeting at the Vatican. The two leaders discussed global trouble spots and cultural tensions during a 20-minute encounter in the pope’s private library April 18. It was the first papal audience for...Read More

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Despite the objections of Catholic officials, New Hampshire moved a step closer to legalizing same-sex civil unions when Gov. John Lynch said that he would sign such legislation if the state Senate passes it. Bishop John B. McCormack of Manchester said the issue is not one of rights but of keeping “the...Read More

Father John Dietzen’s response regarding conscience and suicide bombings (CR, March 29) is misleading and does not adequately represent the church’s views. Although it is true that we can never know what is in a person’s head, we also must have confidence in the meaning of the cathechism when it says “with a sincere heart,...Read More

The seventh-grade girls’ basketball team of St. Michael the Archangel School, Overlea, finished a successful season with 11 wins and four losses, winning their division in the CYO league and advancing to the playoffs for the third straight year; they lost a close game to Our Lady of Victory School, Arbutus.Read More

In honor of the St. Agnes Auxiliary’s 100th anniversary a reception was held April 18 at St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore. The Auxiliary was founded in 1907 and it is the oldest continuously serving auxiliary of its kind in the nation.Read More

BALTIMORE – Enrollment figures for Catholic schools in the 2006-07 academic year show “a continued significant decline in the elementary school population and a slight increase in secondary school enrollment,” according to a report by the National Catholic Educational Association. Total enrollment fell by 1.8 percent, or 42,569 students, said the annual statistical report prepared...Read More

A funeral Mass for Deacon Thomas Yorkshire will be offered at 10 a.m. April 21 at St. Gregory the Great, Baltimore. Deacon Yorkshire died April 11. He was 72. Born in Mechanicsville in 1935, Deacon Yorkshire was a son of the late Booker T. and Hazel Yorkshire Everett.Read More

Third-graders of St. Agnes School, Catonsville, were treated to a special visitor – a piglet brought in by Brooke Hartner, Miss Howard County Farm Bureau, graduate of Mount De Sales Academy, Catonsville, and parishioner of St. Michael, Poplar Springs.Read More