Celebration of Tradition and Triumph
Jan 29 2007
There is nothing more exciting than the packed house, overwhelming school spirit and the healthy rivalry between two long-standing Baltimore institutions, The Institute of Notre Dame and Mercy High School.
Alumni and basketball enthusiasts alike will gather at the Towson Center, Feb. 2 for the 41st tip-off of “The Game.” Tip-off time is 7:30 p.m. with pre-game festivities kicking off at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at either school for $8 until the day of the game. Tickets sold at the door at the Towson Center on game day will be $9.
Postcards, school support help student fight his cancer
Jan 28 2007
LIGONIER, Pa. – While sixth-grader Chad Scanlon has been battling a cancerous brain tumor he has kept his focus on other things, including collecting postcards from all 50 states and every country around the world.
The student at Holy Trinity School in Ligonier became intrigued with atlases and geography, so much so that he created his own atlas last summer. He and his family, parishioners of St. Boniface Parish in Chestnut Ridge, traveled to Belgium and several states before he became ill.
“I’m a big geography person and I like postcards because I can see the scenery,” said Chad, the son of James and Marie Paule Scanlon.
U.S. urged to improve relations with Cuba
Jan 24 2007
WASHINGTON – The U.S. government should emulate the Catholic Church and look for a dramatic way to improve relations with Cuba, said a U.S. lawmaker after returning from a fact-finding trip to the Caribbean island.
Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., cited the 1998 trip to Cuba by Pope John Paul II and said it had a “dramatic impact” on improving the church’s situation in the communist-ruled country.
“The pope’s visit opened things up for the church,” said Rep. McGovern at a Jan. 23 panel discussion in Washington on U.S.-Cuban relations.
“We should learn by that example,” he said.
U.S. bishop says he admires Palestinians' spirit
Jan 18 2007
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said he "admired the spirit of the (Palestinian) people" in the face of hardships in the Gaza Strip.
Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., said he was "really impressed" by the vision of Msgr. Manuel Musallam of Holy Family Parish in Gaza. His vision is to build "a sense of unity for all people in the Holy Land including Muslims, Christians and Jews" despite the difficult conditions in which the parishioners live, the bishop said.
Mercy contributes to ‘drain’ of physicians
Jan 18 2007
As a Catholic and reader of The Catholic Review, I am writing in connection with the article “Mercy VP travels to Africa,” (CR, Jan. 4).
While the article points to the fact that the recruitment of nurses from Kenya is a “win-win” arrangement for Mercy Hospital and the individual nurses who may be recruited, the article fails to point out the devastating effect that the brain drain of doctors and nurses from Kenya and other developing countries is having on the health care systems of those countries.
U.S. Bishop discusses Palestinian plight
Jan 15 2007
NAHALEEN, West Bank – The encroachment of Israeli settlements on Palestinian water sources must be addressed, said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., said his two-day visit to view Catholic Relief Services’ projects in West Bank farming villages brought to his attention the plight of farmers who are losing access to their water supply.
“It is the first time I have become aware of the critical nature of the water supply. (Palestinians) feel their water supply is being cut from them by the encroachment (of Israeli settlements) beyond the green line,” said the bishop.
'Olympic' games bond youth in faith and love
Jan 10 2007
The large gymnasium stage at Sacred Heart, Glyndon, was draped with red, green, blue, black and yellow streamers Jan. 5, while Olympic rings hung on the wall and some 120 balloons scattered the floor.
The planning group for the Olympic themed lock-in, Katie Beinstein, Mary Bosley, Haley and Allison Boyd and Joe Miller, had worked on the event for high school-age youth for months and were anxious to see how everything played out on the rainy Friday evening.
“They really put their all into it,” said Mae Richardson, the boisterous youth minister for the parish. “It’s an opportunity to experience the church outside the building.”
Renaissance Institute offers senior “renewal”
Jan 10 2007
When W. Gregory Halpin retired as the administrator of the Maryland Port Administration in 1985, he had amassed quite a collection of adventures.
During his time leading the agency, he oversaw the construction of the World Trade Center in Baltimore. His work took him to far-flung corners of the world like Brussels, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Poland, Malaysia and Russia. He even entertained the brother of the last Chinese emperor.
Although he did some consulting work in other ports after retiring, the parishioner of Immaculate Conception in Towson wasn’t satisfied with his much-slowed-down schedule.
That’s when he turned to the Renaissance Institute at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in Baltimore.
Little Italy’s Pelosi enters speaker’s spotlight
Jan 08 2007
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Rep. Nancy Rep. Pelosi’s ascent to the post of speaker of the House puts her in the spotlight for a variety of "firsts."
She’s the first woman, the first Italian-American and the first Californian to hold the post. At a Jan. 3 Mass at Trinity University in Washington, Rep. Pelosi’s alma mater, focusing on the children of Darfur and Hurricane Katrina victims, Jesuit Father Robert Drinan, a former member of Congress, noted that she’s the first mother in the seat.
But beyond the firsts, Rep. Pelosi is a well-known player in Washington with a reputation for effectively leading House Democrats and for being willing to listen to people on all sides of issues.
Love your local ecosystem
Jan 07 2007
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (CNS) -- Everywhere he goes, Australian Christian Brother Moy Hitchen urges people to get out into nature and listen to the earth.
"I'm trying to say 'Love your local ecosystem,'" he said. "Get out there and find the rocks, the soil, the trees, the bushes, the birds that belong to (your) part of the world, and then think, what does the earth want us to do?"
Archbishop takes over despite helping communists
Jan 05 2007
OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus has become the new head of the Warsaw Archdiocese, despite findings by a church commission that he collaborated with Poland’s former communist secret police.
“From the material presented, it seems various bad intentions and attitudes about the church are being attributed to me,” Archbishop Wielgus said in a Jan. 5 statement. “This is a falsification. There is absolutely no documentation to prove it, beyond the words of functionaries who viewed my person and the whole issue in their own way.
“I never betrayed Christ and his church in deeds, words or intentions. I never inflicted any harm on anyone,” the bishop said.
Woodmont celebrates Epiphany
Jan 05 2007
In the Hispanic culture, the Epiphany is almost as important as Christmas. It is the day when the three kings traveled far from home to visit a newborn baby, in the City of Bethlehem.
For the past four years, Woodmont Academy, Cooksville, Spanish teacher Patricia Stack has been helping to educate students from pre-kindergarten to third grade about this joyous event as they learn about the Hispanic culture.
This year she organized holiday festivities for her 150 students from Jan. 4-5.
Catholics honor Baltimore’s homeless at memorial
Jan 04 2007
Wearing a black tattered coat, gloves with a hole in the left palm and a knit skull cap, a homeless woman calling herself Miss L.A. shed a tear as Baltimore City political leaders called out the names of her fellow street dwellers who died in the past year.
The 16th Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service held Dec. 21 at Baltimore’s War Memorial Plaza, drew about 200 candle-holding spectators and gave Miss L.A. ample opportunity to beg for change.
2007 promises a world of busyness for Pope
Dec 26 2006
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A new Vatican calendar features photos of Pope Benedict XVI relaxing, but the pope's own agenda for 2007 leaves little time for repose.
The Vatican will be a busy place throughout the year, with hundreds of papal meetings, liturgies and other events already scheduled and several documents in the pipeline.
The pope will make at least two foreign trips, including his first intercontinental journey, and sometime during the year is likely to name another batch of new cardinals.
Holy Land exhibit to tour through 2008
Dec 24 2006
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The North American tour of a collection of sacred texts and artifacts from the Holy Land was to complete a stop in Nashville, Tenn., on New Year's Eve and head for Tulsa, Okla.
"From Abraham to Jesus," a collection of more than 340 texts and artifacts, including one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, opened in Atlanta in September and is to visit 27 cities in the U.S. and Canada before ending Dec. 21, 2008, at the Meadowlands in Secaucus, N.J.
The traveling exhibit uses photomurals, thematic sets, digital surround sound, and state-of-the-art lighting, music and narration to help visitors see, hear and feel 2,500 years of biblical history.