Calling the death penalty “an expensive and utterly ineffective tool in deterring violent crime,” Gov. Martin J. O’Malley implored members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee to allow his proposed capital punishment ban to reach the floor for a vote by the full legislative body.
St. Frances Academy dreams of big expansion
Walking along the Johnston Square streets that surround St. Frances Academy in a forgotten corner of East Baltimore, Tom Nealis passed vacant lots overrun with weeds and boarded-up row houses tagged with graffiti.
Baby Jesus returns
He once was lost but now is found. The plastic baby Jesus figure that vandals ripped from the outdoor manger of a Timonium Nativity scene last January has been recovered and returned to Gil and Loretta Hoffman.
Ground broken for Pope John Paul II Prayer Garden
For someone who relished the great outdoors, the late Pope John Paul II would certainly be pleased with the outdoor prayer garden that is being carved out of the corner of Charles and Franklin streets in downtown Baltimore.
Former Catholic Review columnist dies at 81
Paulist Father James McCabe, former director of the Family Life Center in Baltimore and a longtime columnist for The Catholic Review, died Dec. 25, 2011 in Toronto. He was 81 and had been battling cancer.
St. Luke honors longtime pastor at his retirement
EDGEMERE – Standing at the back of St. Luke Church following a Dec. 11 Mass marking his retirement, Monsignor Joseph S. Lizor Jr. extended both arms to shake hands with the many parishioners who wanted to greet him. Several children gave the 79-year-old pastor homemade cards, while hugs seemed to engulf the vested clergyman faster than he expected.
Christmas stamp features Walters Art Museum treasure by Raphael
A Raphael masterpiece that hangs in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore is getting national attention this holiday season as the U.S. Postal Service features the “Madonna of the Candelabra” as one of its 2011 Christmas stamps.
Interfaith leaders pledge to defend traditional marriage in Maryland
Leaders of a newly-formed pro-marriage coalition came out swinging against efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland – pledging in a Nov. 30 press conference to rally citizens across the state to defeat legislation that would alter the traditional definition of marriage.
Vatican will not consider Annapolis healing case
Vatican experts have declined to consider the case of the apparent healing of an Annapolis woman as the miracle needed for the canonization of Blessed Francis X. Seelos, a 19th century Redemptorist priest who was pastor of St. Alphonsus in Baltimore, St. Mary in Annapolis and Ss. Peter and Paul in Cumberland.
Parishes welcome new English translation of Roman Missal
Father Matthew T. Buening looked out on his congregation Nov. 27 as he was concluding Mass at St. Paul in Ellicott City and spoke words he has offered throughout his priesthood.
Miracle man? Paralyzed priest, former Annapolis pastor, begins walking
EPHRATA, Pa. – When Redemptorist Father John Murray bashed his head against a railing after tripping along a New Jersey boardwalk 15 months ago, the consequences were devastating.
Community life inspires ‘miracle man’
Redemptorist Father John Murray is convinced he’s a walking miracle. After suffering a fall that left him paralyzed from the chest down, the former pastor of St. Mary in Annapolis and St. Wenceslaus in Baltimore began praying for Blessed Francis X. Seelos – a former St. Mary’s pastor – to intercede on his behalf. As noted in this […]