WARSAW, Poland – Many Eastern European church officials said they lack procedures for handling claims of clergy collaborating with communist secret police nearly 20 year after the collapse of communism. Father Laszlo Nemeth, secretary-general of the Hungarian bishops’ conference, told Catholic News Service that although Hungarian bishops had debated the issue in the early 1990s...Read More

St. Brigid, Canton, will host a special Mass Feb. 4 for the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians to celebrate the Irish saint for which the 153-year-old parish was named. About 100 members of the LAOH from 12 different Maryland divisions are expected to flock to the special 1:30 p.m. Mass in honor of St. Brigid’s...Read More

Surrounded by paintings, letters and memorabilia of Oblate Sisters of Providence founder Mother Mary Lange, Sister Virginie Fish, O.S.P. prepares for the day-long celebration marking the 125th anniversary of the candidate for sainthood’s death on Feb. 3. The event is a tradition the 79-year-old director of the Mother Mary Lange Guild has organized annually since...Read More

The church has made many arguments against capital punishment (CR, Web poll). Those who do not accept the church’s moral authority in the matter should consider the following: to support capital punishment, one must either accept that the court system is infallible (which is demonstrably false), or that it is acceptable to occasionally execute innocent...Read More

The Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middle River, Lady Cougars are poised and prepped to defend their Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland C Conference title this season, maintaining a strong hold on first place of the Conference’s Y Division. The Cougars are posting a 12-3 league record with their lone conference loss Dec. 20 to...Read More

WASHINGTON – Use of the sacrament of penance makes each Catholic “an evangelist for the forgiveness of Christ and a witness to God’s wondrous mercy,” said Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl in his first pastoral letter as head of the Washington Archdiocese. Archbishop Wuerl called confession “a great gift” that offers new life in Christ. “When...Read More

ROME – Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, strongly defended Pope Pius XII’s wartime actions and said he had coordinated church efforts that saved the lives of many Jews. Cardinal Bertone spoke Jan. 24 at the presentation of the Italian translation of the book “The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust,” by...Read More

The generation gap appeared to be closed in the cafeteria of West Baltimore’s Seton Keough High School as senior citizens and teenagers from four area Catholic schools boogied together on the dance floor to legends like Elvis Presley and James Brown. “I feel good honey,” growled Catherine Gallagher, a resident of St. Joachim House on...Read More