SAN FRANCISCO – A new book to be published in March by HarperSanFrancisco brings together what its editors call “the central writings and speeches” of Pope Benedict XVI. “The Essential Pope Benedict XVI: His Central Writings and Speeches” opens with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s sermon at the funeral of Pope John Paul II April 18, 2005,...Read More

WASHINGTON – Across the street from the Capitol Hill hotel where the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering was being conducted, a group of Koreans was protesting an impending free-trade deal with South Korea. The protest was complete with chanting and drums. Inside the hotel, Oblate Father Andrew Small, a policy adviser for the U.S. bishops...Read More

WASHINGTON – Catholic social ministry leaders got an unusual message Feb. 12 as they were preparing for a day of lobbying on Capitol Hill: Thank your legislators for supporting the funding of a massive program to combat the spread of the global AIDS/HIV pandemic. On many issues that Catholic social activists bring up with their...Read More

SYDNEY, Australia – The head of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council has reiterated calls for the release of an Australian imprisoned at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome, the justice council head, joined the increasing criticism of the Australian government’s efforts on behalf of David Hicks, a...Read More

“Come, See, Investigate. Who Do You Say That I Am?” is the theme of the ninth annual Central Maryland Formation Day to be held March 10 at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg.Read More

It was clear early on that no one was going to catch the defending champions from McDonogh School, Owings Mills, but it was nip and tuck throughout the two-day Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association’s 2006-2007 Wrestling Tournament Feb. 9-10 to see who was going to place second.Read More

MOBILE, Ala. – Almost 18 months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the Little Sisters of the Poor still have not received a $1.4 million reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for first responders’ emergency use of Mary Joseph Residence for the Elderly in New Orleans after the hurricane.Read More

WASHINGTON – Pax Christi USA has been gathering signatures for an advertisement that will call for “a complete reversal of U.S. policy” in Iraq, including a withdrawal of U.S. troops. “The U.S. is not the honest broker who can craft peace among the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. Our continued military presence is counterproductive,” says the...Read More