Entering the seminary is not irrevocable, the archbishop said. It’s part of a discernment process to discover whether God is calling them to the priesthood.

A generation of priests is retiring or passing on – a generation inspired by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and one that seemed particularly passionate about righting wrongs through social change.

Hermits lead an intense prayer life.

Gaul, 72, died Oct. 18, after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer. He worked at the Catholic Review beginning as a writer in 1995 before becoming associate and then managing editor. He had also produced and hosted Catholic News Radio and Catholic Review TV.

Since he joined the Ravens this season, Tucker, who is Catholic, has earned points for both his kicks and his personality. Teammates have described the six-foot-tall, 180-pound kicker as fun-loving, goofy, “good weird,” a live wire and silly.

Father Mark Stewart Bullock, former associate pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Towson, was sentenced Aug. 22 to probation and will not serve any jail time after pleading guilty to a single charge of indecent exposure, according to a Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman.

Noble may be in store for a higher profile in the Archdiocese of Baltimore – the nation’s first diocese and the “Premier See.” The dog accompanied Archbishop Lori to Baltimore and will be living with the archbishop at his Charles Street residence.

Organized by Father John “Jack” Lombardi, administrator of St. Peter, Hancock, and St. Patrick, Little Orleans, the trek was designed to call attention to a new federal health care mandate requiring all employers to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilizations and contraceptives.

Monsignor Damien Nalepa, pastor of St. Gregory the Great in West Baltimore for 30 years and a much-respected proponent of inner-city ministry, social justice and non-violence, died suddenly at St. Gregory Aug. 4 at age 70.

There are now two members of the College of Cardinals with links to Baltimore in the Eternal City.