Benedict XVI

Students at St. Joan of Arc School participate in conclave web chat with Archbishop Lori

2013-03-18 09:50:06

The eighth grade students at St. Joan of Arc School participated in a Conclave web chat with William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, on March 11. St. Joan of Arc School was one of 17 Catholic elementary schools invited to participate. Archbishop Lori...

The pope as a retiree

2013-02-27 10:40:00

Pope Benedict XVI retires Thursday, and he leaves the workplace the way many of us would like to — on his own terms. He wasn't laid off at 50 with few transferable skills, required to retrain or reinvent himself and then compete for work with...

A 'reformed' Catholic hopes Francis can heal the church

2013-03-19 11:29:00

By coincidence, last Easter I was in St. Peter's Square in Rome as Pope Benedict XVI delivered what turned out to be his final Easter Mass as head of the Catholic Church. A week from Sunday, the new pope will deliver his first. Expectations for Pope...

Pope Francis: New salesman, same old product

2013-03-19 03:00:00

For the first time in history, the Roman Catholic Church has a pope from the New World, but liberal American Catholics should not expect Pope Francis to stray far from the old theology. Some things are excitingly different about this new pontiff. On...

How Pope Francis can reinvigorate the church

2013-03-14 10:52:00

Newly elected Pope Francis represents change in many respects. He is the first pope from the New World (and the first from outside of Europe in 1,200 years), the first Jesuit and the first Francis. But for American Catholics, who in poll after poll in...

How to fix the Catholic Church

2013-02-27 06:45:00

The Roman Catholic Church is at the most perplexing time in it's storied, at times sordid, history. For the first time in more than 600 years, a pope has chosen to retire, due mostly to deteriorating health issues. Is that truly the most prominent...

Catholic laity needs to be heard in selection of new pope

2013-03-06 12:00:00

Since the resignation of Pope Benedict, we have been treated to the truly tawdry spectacle of life in the Vatican at this time in history. There are stories of Papal shoes, rings, palaces and castles. We see pictures of old men dressed in ecclesiastical...

Hundreds join archbishop for Mass to celebrate Pope Francis

2013-03-17 15:54:43

Three deer scurried past the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen as Steve Thomas and his wife, Debbie, arrived for Sunday Mass to celebrate the new spiritual leader for Roman Catholics worldwide, Pope Francis. The symbolism struck the Arbutus man, who said the...

Harford County residents glad to hear of new pope

2013-03-13 20:19:00

Around 2 p.m. Wednesday, the bell at Saint Margaret Parish in Bel Air pealed as word quickly spread from faithful observers in St. Peter's Square in Rome throughout the world that white smoke was pouring from the chimney at the Vatican, the formal...

Popes and home runs

2013-03-15 05:00:00

Baltimore is a rather Catholic town; if you ever lived here you know that. I was born and raised an Irish Catholic in Baltimore; if you frequent this blog you may have known that. Baseball is the ultimate sport for bizarre connections to history. No...

Carroll County Catholics celebrate announcement of new pope

2013-03-17 00:00:00

Catholics in Carroll County joined those around the world in celebrating the announcement that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina had been named Pope Francis, the 266th pope, on Wednesday. The new pope succeeds Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned...

Baltimore Catholics see fresh outlook from new pope

2013-03-13 19:20:00

Surprise turned into joy as Baltimore Catholics celebrated the election of the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, saying it offered an often-hidebound church a chance for rejuvenation. "One time, John Paul the Great called America, meaning...

Newly ordained bishops lay on the floor as Pope Benedict XVI leads the Epiphany mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican January 6, 2013.

2013-05-22 13:39:00

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he makes his "Urbi et Orbi" (To the city and the world) address from a balcony in St. Peter's Square in Vatican April 8, 2012.

2013-05-22 13:35:00

The dome of Saint Peter's Basilica is seen as Pope Benedict XVI leads the Chrismal mass in the Basilica at the Vatican April 5, 2012.

2013-05-22 13:35:00