Interfaith leaders pray for end to death penalty March 17, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News After her brother became Baltimore’s 21st murder victim of 2007, Erricka Bridgeford couldn’t wait for the police to find the person who did it. Bridgeford dreamed of spitting in the murderer’s face. Male relatives thought of even more violent ways of exacting vengeance, she said.
Paralysis won’t stop priest at Fells Point St. Patrick’s Day Mass March 10, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Local News, News Growing up in New York, Redemptorist Father John Murray loved marching with his father in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Now that he uses a wheelchair, Father Murray is about to promote the Saint of Ireland in a way that may prove more powerful than anything he could have done on foot in a parade.
Family of fallen Marine split on Westboro ruling March 10, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Local News, News Two members of a family whose son was killed in Iraq had different reactions to a March 2 Supreme Court decision upholding the First Amendment rights of members of the Westboro Baptist Church to protest outside the 2006 funeral of Matthew Snyder at St. John Parish in Westminster.
Calling St. Polycarp March 10, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Blog, The Narthex When Marilyn Szewczyk was about to launch a network of pro-life pregnancy centers in Maryland, she turned to St. Polycarp for help. Reasoning that the obscure early Christian martyr didn’t have many people asking for his intercession, Szewczyk figured she’d have easy access to his ear.Lynn Anne Sukeena, one of Szewczyk’s daughters, told me that […]
Cardinal Keeler celebrates 80th birthday March 3, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News “You have been and continue to be a star,” Archbishop Sambi said, “a light of hope, not only for the church, but also for the community at large.”
Cardinal Keeler and the Psychic Reader March 3, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Blog, The Narthex Cardinal William H. Keeler, master of the one-liner, meets with George P. Matysek Jr. (CR Staff/Owen Sweeney III)During a March 2 testimonial at a special celebration of Cardinal William H. Keeler’s upcoming 80th birthday, Richard Berndt told a story that demonstrated why friends know the retired archbishop as a master of
Mystery of George Washington’s missing (and recovered) letter to Catholics February 16, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Blog, The Narthex Part of a 1790 letter to Catholics written by President George Washington is shown in this photograph. The letter is housed in the archives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. (Courtesy Archdiocese of Baltimore) In honor of President’s Day, tomorrow’s issue of The Catholic Review will feature an article on a very valuable letter housed in […]
Judge Garbis rules Baltimore pregnancy center sign law unconstitutional February 3, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Local News, News, Respect Life U.S. District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis ruled Jan. 28 in Baltimore that it is unconstitutional to require pro-life pregnancy centers to post signs with language mandated by the government.
Sargent Shriver: Cardinal Gibbons’ godson remembered January 22, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Blog, The Narthex Sargent Shriver is shown in a Life photograph. The former vice presidential candidate was the godson of Baltimore Cardinal James Gibbons. This week’s cover story in The Catholic Review spotlights a mother and daughter who are planning to jump into the icy Chesapeake Bay at the end of the month to raise money for the Special Olympics. Was […]
St. Michael, Fells Point, faces possible closure January 20, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News Leaders of the Redemptorists and the Archdiocese of Baltimore are considering a plan to close 159-year-old St. Michael in Fells Point and relocate parishioners to Sacred Heart of Jesus in Highlandtown.
Westminster school offered support in face of Westboro protesters January 6, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Local News, News WESTMINSTER – As the Supreme Court considers a high-profile case involving the Westboro Baptist Church, much media attention has focused on what the Kansas church members did outside St. John parish during Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder’s 2006 funeral.
Remembering a Baltimore culinary classic December 8, 2010By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, The Narthex The founders of Haussner’s, William Henry Haussner and Frances Wilke Haussner, always treated priests with extra kindness, Mrs. Jakowski said. When long lines of waiting customers would stretch along Eastern Avenue – as was often the case – the owners would pluck priests out of the crowd and make sure they and their guests were given priority seating.
