Archbishop

Baltimore archbishop William E. Lori is set to co-host an event in Baltimore Wednesday night to oppose Maryland's new same-sex marriage law. "It is a way for the faith community to gather together," said Kathy Dempsey, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Catholic Conference. "It is a time of fellowship. " Dempsey said the invitation-only event is free of charge, and she expects about 200 people. "Our campaign is not about raising millions and millions from Hollywood and Madison Avenue," she said.

Third annual President's Cup championship No. 5 Gilman vs. Archbishop Curley Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards When: Saturday at 1 p.m. Admission/Parking: Free. Enter Camden Yards through Home Plate Plaza, which is located near Lot A. Radio: WBAL 1090AM and wbal.com KEY PLAYERS Archbishop Curley: J.D. Caulkins, senior, LHP-1B-OF; Tyler Coleman, senior, IF; Zack Ridgely, junior, LHP-OF; Luke Skovira, senior, OF; Mitch Sutton, senior, RHP-OF Gilman: Danny Blair, sophomore, OF; Gavin Sheets, junior, LHP-1B-OF; Joe Smeton, junior, LHP; Matt Tilley, senior, IF-OF; Trevor Wey, RHP OUTLOOK After losing four of its first five games this season, Archbishop Curley has played better heading into the President's Cup championship game against No. 5 Gilman on Saturday at Camden Yards.

Baltimore Archbishop-designate William Lori said that the U.S. is witnessing "an erosion of religious liberty" and that a sign of it is the Obama administration's attempt to ensure Catholic schools, hospitals and charities provide birth control coverage as part of their employees' health insurance package. Lori, appearing as part of an Easter-morning round-table discussion on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he would not characterize the current atmosphere as a "war" on religion. But he termed the proposed federal mandate, which has been altered to make it more palatable to Catholics, "one of the most important of these underminings of religious liberty.

Jade Scaife Archbishop Spalding, senior, forward The toughest player to defend on the No. 1 team, Scaife led the Cavaliers to a 29-2 record and the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship. "She rose to the occasion in the biggest games," Archbishop Spalding coach Bookie Rosemond said. The 6-foot forward averaged 13.5 points and 10.5 rebounds and had 18 double doubles. She had 28 points and 18 rebounds in a double-overtime win, 70-57, over nationally ranked Riverdale Baptist.

Archbishop Frantisek Vanak of Moravia in Czechoslovakia will lead a service at 7 p.m. tomorrow at St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church in East Baltimore.Vanak is touring the United States to thank the American people for their support of the democratic uprising in Eastern Europe and to help raise money for Catholic seminaries in Czechoslovakia, says Richard Lidinsky, a church member who led the efforts to bring the archbishop to St. Wenceslaus."When [Czech president] Vaclav Havel was in the U.S. recently, my son and I attended a reception at the Czech embassy in Washington.

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 recently elected pontiff sent a message to the faithful in his choice to take the name of the 12th century saint Francis of Assisi, known for his love of animals and for embracing a life of poverty. "We need to get back to basics," said Thomas, master of the Maryland district for the Knights of Columbus.

WASHINGTON -- Baltimore's Roman Catholic archbishop urged Israel yesterday to work on improved dialogue with Palestinian Christians, who he said feel "under siege" in Israel and the occupied territories.Archbishop William H. Keeler raised the issue in a wide-ranging meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. The Middle East peace process, Islamic fundamentalism, improved Israeli-Vatican relations and efforts to combat anti-Semitism in Poland also were discussed.The 50-minute meeting, which the archbishop described as "very cordial," reflected improved relations between Israel and the Catholic Church.

In November 1938, the Nazi terror of European Jews swelled and exploded with a night of killings, vandalism and lootings. Nov. 9 became known as Crystal Night because of all the broken glass on the streets from attacks on synagogues, Jewish businesses and homes. Berlin's largest synagogue was burned, scores of Jews were killed, thousands more brutalized, arrested and sent on fatal journeys to concentration camps. The Holocaust had begun.While too many leaders of the Western world (including those in the Vatican)

Baltimore Archbishop William H. Keeler asked a gathering of area Catholics yesterday to pray in preparation for the visit of Pope John Paul II.The archbishop celebrated Mass at the Baltimore Arena to wrap up a three-day conference designed to prepare area Catholics for the pontiff's scheduled visit to Baltimore next month."

He is not the archbishop of Moscow, but Russia's Roman Catholic archbishop in Moscow.Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz laughed as he emphasized that point in Baltimore yesterday. He is accustomed now to making the fine distinction wherever he goes. Not long ago, it was a serious matter for the minority church he represents.When he was installed in 1991 as the first Catholic prelate in Moscow for more than half a century, following a rapprochement between the Kremlin and the Vatican, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz was stung by a Vatican gaffe.

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 began the web chat with prayer and a PowerPoint presentation explaining the conclave to the students. "This is a historical time in the life of our Church," the Archbishop said. Following the PowerPoint presentation, each school had one student ask a question.

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 recently elected pontiff sent a message to the faithful in his choice to take the name of the 12th century saint Francis of Assisi, known for his love of animals and for embracing a life of poverty. "We need to get back to basics," said Thomas, master of the Maryland district for the Knights of Columbus.

Archbishop Spalding's girls basketball season will last another three weeks because the No. 1 Cavaliers are headed to the National High School Invitational on April 4-6 at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda. The Cavaliers (29-2), who won the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship last month, join three other teams in the field: Dr. Phillips, from Orlando; Life Center Academy from Burlington, N.J.; and Dillard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “We're very excited,” Spalding coach Bookie Rosemond said.

The Mount St. Joseph boys basketball team took care of two things in Sunday's Baltimore Catholic League semifinal against John Carroll at Loyola University's Reitz Arena. With junior guard Phil Booth leading the way with 16 points, the No. 3 Gaels came away with a 62-53 win over the No. 7 Patriots that gave coach Pat Clatchey his 500th career win and sends them into the final to defend last year's championship. Mount St. Joseph (29-6) will meet No. 7 Archbishop Spalding in Monday's championship game.

His players sat silently in the corner of the locker room. Much like he did when he was a player at Maryland more than a quarter century ago, Archbishop Spalding boys basketball coach Derrick Lewis measured his words carefully before speaking. "I lost a bunch of games over a long career, but I never gave up," Lewis said in a low, but forceful voice. "A lot of you guys gave up tonight. " A few minutes before, Loyola embarrassed the Cavaliers, 69-49, on Senior Night. Lewis used the loss as an opportunity to give his players a bit of a history lesson, recalling his junior year in College Park, which was Bob Wade's first season as coach.

Each week, The Baltimore Sun will publish a Q&A with a college lacrosse player or coach to get you more acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Mount St. Mary's senior attackman Andrew Scalley, who has 104 goals and 60 assists in his career. The Arnold native and Archbishop Spalding graduate was named Northeast Conference Player of the Week on Monday for his three-goal, five-assist performance in the Mountaineers' 12-11 upset of then-No. 17 Bucknell a day earlier.

Archbishop Spalding forward Jordan Clinton "is having a breakout season," Cavaliers coach Deb Taylor said. Clinton's success on the basketball court is not surprising considering that her father, Tim Clinton, played at Glen Burnie and that her mother, Debbie Garrison Clinton, played for Brooklyn Park, where she scored 1,630 career points and was a member of state championship teams in 1985, 1986 and 1987. Jordan's younger brother, Trey Clinton, is on the Mount St. Joseph junior varsity team.

Three years ago, when members of the Greek Orthodox church in North America heard about the cleric who would be their next archbishop, U.S.-born Metropolitan Spyridon seemed like the ideal man for the job.Spyridon , whose baptismal name is George Papageorgiou, is a native of Warren, Ohio. He seemed perfectly suited to lead a church whose members are no longer mostly immigrants, but are U.S.-born, well-educated and prosperous."He was an all-American boy," said Evan Alevizatos Chriss, a Baltimore lawyer and founding member of Greek Orthodox American Leaders, an independent lay group that is Spyridon's most vocal opponent.

Archbishop William E. Lori will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving next week for the papacy of Benedict XVI, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced Friday. The Mass is planned for 5 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, spokesman Sean Caine said. It will be open to the public; tickets will not be required. Benedict, 85, said this week that he would step down at the end of the month after nearly eight years as spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. He became the first pope to resign voluntarily since Clementine V in 1294.

At times this season, Archbishop Spalding's girls basketball team has gone away from its inside strength, but the No. 1 Cavaliers used their physical advantage with 5-foot-11 Camille Calhoun and 6-foot Jade Scaife to earn their fourth straight trip to the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship. Calhoun scored eight of her 14 points in the first quarter and had 15 rebounds in the game, while Scaife finished with 17 points and five rebounds as the host Cavaliers won their semifinal Thursday, 61-52, over No. 5 Roland Park in a game that was much closer than the final score.