WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush June 20 vetoed a bill to expand federal funding for medical research on human embryonic stem cells, saying it “would compel American taxpayers, for the first time in our history, to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos.” Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee...Read More
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Human trafficking and prostitution are common in Rhode Island, and of growing concern to law enforcement officials and legislators, according to several who spoke about the situation with the Rhode Island Catholic, newspaper of the Providence Diocese.Read More
I was very disappointed to read the cover article (CR, June 14) and read only one sentence, near the end of the article, that mentions a critical idea about President Bush (the Vatican’s opposition to the war in Iraq).Read More
LONACONING – St. Mary of the Annunciation in Lonaconing just wouldn’t be the same without Mary and Catherine Meyers. The two sisters have been lifelong parishioners of this tiny faith community in Western Maryland – amassing a combined 181 years at the parish. Now that the Myers sisters live at an assisted living facility in...Read More
A funeral Mass was offered June 22 at The Villa in Baltimore for Sister Mary Rose Simms, R.S.M. Sister Mary Rose died June 19 of complications of pneumonia. She was 93.Read More
When Alex Radzius walked out of St. Alphonsus, Baltimore, after Mass on a recent Sunday morning, he noticed the building across Saratoga Street where he attended school in the 1950s is primed to become up-scale condos for future city dwellers. “I see it as a good thing,” the St. Alphonsus parishioner said. “It’s going to...Read More
CHARLESTON, S.C. – As chaplain of the South Carolina Firefighters’ Association for the past 23 years, Monsignor Joseph R. Roth has made a habit of writing to the families of each of the 80 or 90 members who die each year. But he never expected to have to write to nine families at once, as...Read More
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has issued a set of “Ten Commandments” for drivers, saying motor vehicles can be an “occasion of sin.” A document titled “Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road” said driving can unleash road rage and other immoral behavior, including excess speed, reckless passing, cursing and just plain rudeness.Read More
MOSTAR, Bosnia-Herzegovina – The preacher of the papal household has withdrawn from plans to deliver a series of lectures in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, after the local bishop denied him permission to speak there. Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, who has been the pope’s preacher since 1980, was to be the keynote speaker at the 12th International Seminar...Read More
Shortly after undergoing brain surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, June 18, Cardinal William H. Keeler was cracking jokes with a family member, a sign the procedure went well, officials from the Archdiocese of Baltimore said. Deacon Rod Mortel, director of the Office of the Propagation of the Faith for the Archdiocese of Baltimore,...Read More
JERUSALEM – The Gaza compound of the Rosary Sisters was ransacked and looted and sacred objects were destroyed during Palestinian infighting that led to the Hamas faction’s takeover of the Gaza Strip. Monsignor Manuel Musallam, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza, said gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades to break down the doors of the compound,...Read More