Speaking in Rodgers Forge, Sister Helen Prejean calls for end to death penalty September 27, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Respect Life Calling the death penalty nothing more than “legalized vengeance,” Sister Helen said the gift of being a Catholic is embracing the “seamless garment of life” – respecting the dignity of life from conception until natural death.
St. Peter’s whips up 5,200 apple dumplings for fall festival September 20, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Western Vicariate In an assembly line that would make Henry Ford proud, dozens of volunteers from St. Peter in Hancock transformed their parish hall into an apple dumpling factory Sept. 12-14 – filling the air with the delightfully dense aroma of sweet cinnamon and fresh-baked apples that attracted visitors from near and far.
2,000 pay tribute to Cardinal Keeler September 7, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News In a sign of deep affection for the man who has served as the fatherly face of the Archdiocese of Baltimore for 18 years, nearly 2,000 people gathered in the Baltimore Convention Center Sept. 6 to honor the long ministry of Cardinal William H. Keeler.
Friars deliver message of love on Baltimore streets August 16, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Vocations Wearing hooded grey robes cinched at the waist with ropes, nearly a dozen Franciscan Friars of the Renewal marched through the streets of downtown Baltimore Aug. 9 carrying a large crucifix, an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a papal flag.
Father Parker named to new role August 6, 2007By Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News Father Adam J. Parker, pastor of Church of the Ascension, Halethorpe, has been named vice chancellor for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and will serve as secretary to Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, effective Sept. 17.
Cardinal Keeler honors Basilica’s 100,000th visitor August 3, 2007By Catholic Review Filed Under: Baltimore Basilica, Local News, News As Rosalie Dohm of Woodbridge, Va. climbed the stairs to the nation’s first cathedral Aug. 2, she thought it was unusual that Cardinal William H. Keeler was personally greeting each of the visitors from her parish tour group. The 66-year-old parishioner of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Lakeridge, Va., then found herself in the spotlight when Cardinal Keeler handed her a package and balloons and congratulated her for being the 100,000th visitor to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary since it reopened last November. “I’m dumbfounded,” said Ms. Dohm, who attended the tour with her parish’s Silver Foxes senior citizen group. “I was excited about seeing this place, but wow. What a shock to be told you are the 100,000th visitor since it opened back up to the public.”
Overcoming cancer teaches Westminster pastor lessons on faith August 2, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News During the many months Monsignor Arthur Valenzano battled leukemia, there was one day the longtime pastor of St. John in Westminster remembers as his absolute worst.
New Josephite priest and leadership team July 6, 2007By Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News Father Godwin Sochukwuma Ani, S.S.J., was ordained on May 19 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Washington D.C.
Outsider is force for change: Cumberland Mayor Fiedler honored by archdiocese June 21, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Western Vicariate In a small Western Maryland town whose residents pride homegrown leadership, Mayor Lee Fiedler knows he is probably one of the unlikeliest persons to hold Cumberland’s top job at City Hall.
Father Bak, ‘pioneer’ in diaconate, dies June 15, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Obituaries Father Bernard S. Bak, one of the first permanent deacons ordained in the United States who later became a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, died in his Dundalk home June 8. He was 85. A funeral Mass was offered June 11 at St. Casimir in Canton, the parish in which Father Bak grew up and where he served as a deacon after his 1971 ordination. Father Bak also served as a deacon at Christ the King in Dundalk. After his wife of 35 years, Antoinette Stefanowicz, died in 1984, Father Bak petitioned the archdiocese to become a priest. He studied at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park and was ordained a priest in 1988.
Clarksville parish becoming hub for classical music June 14, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Local News, News “Down through the centuries the Catholic Church has always been a great patron both of the visual and musical arts,” said Monsignor Luca. “It’s in that spirit we would like to offer these concerts to all the people of our community.”
Former speaker laments ‘divisive’ political climate: Casper Taylor reflects on hard decisions May 31, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, Maryland General Assembly, News, Western Vicariate Nearly five years after Casper R. Taylor Jr. lost his seat in the House of Delegates and stepped down as Maryland’s longest- serving Speaker of the House of Delegates, the well-known Western Maryland native hasn’t backed away from public policy.
