Catholic Bishops

The Revs. Tracy Bruce and Stephen Davenport travel to Haiti every January to visit the music school in Port-au-Prince, the church in St. Etienne and the other development projects they support in the poorest nation in the Americas. But with the school and the church now destroyed, and no word yet from many of the friends with whom the husband-and-wife Episcopal clergy members have worked over the decades, they expect this month's trip to be different. "There's nothing that's coming out of Haiti at all in terms of communication right now from anybody on the ground," Bruce, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Glyndon, said Friday.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore has concluded that allegations of child sexual abuse against a Cumberland priest are credible and will not allow him to return to active ministry, Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien said. Monsignor Thomas Bevan, pastor of St. Patrick Church from 1997 until August, has denied the allegations of four people who say he abused them in the 1970s, O'Brien wrote in a letter to parishioners delivered at Mass over the weekend. The archdiocese removed Bevan, 73, in August pending an investigation into allegations by one man that Bevan abused him on a number of occasions when he was a student at the parish school of St. John Catholic Church in Frederick during the mid-1970s.

The nation's Catholic bishops approved a broad new document on marriage Tuesday, laying what its writers described as the foundation for the American church's efforts to promote the institution as the joining of one man and one woman. "Thank goodness this is out there, clearly stated, with ample documentation and very reasonably put forward," said Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien of Baltimore, which is hosting the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this week.

Marylanders on both sides of the abortion divide are steeling themselves for a historic clash over the procedure, after lawmakers voted to prohibit federal subsidies for insurance that covers it. Under the restriction, which was added late Saturday to make the House passage of the health care overhaul possible, elective abortions would not be covered by private insurance policies subsidized by the government or by the public option. Local battle lines were taking shape as the issue threatened to recast the health care debate nationally.

ASUNCION, Paraguay -- A former Roman Catholic Church bishop won a historic victory yesterday in this impoverished country's presidential election, ending the 61-year reign of the world's longest ruling party. With 83 percent of polling stations reporting, Fernando Lugo received 40.7 percent of 1.57 million ballots cast. Running a distant second was former Education Minister Blanca Ovelar, the candidate of the long-ruling Colorado Party, who got 30.8 percent. Former general and ex-Colorado Lino Oviedo garnered 22 percent.

Days after its publication, a largely positive review of The Golden Compass that appeared in Catholic newspapers across the country was retracted this week by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops, who could not be reached for comment, offered no explanation for the decision. But Catholic groups, including the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, have urged moviegoers to boycott the film, saying the film and the book on which it is based are anti-Catholic.

Roman Catholic bishops gathered in Baltimore approved a voters guide yesterday for the coming elections - repeating their long-standing opposition to abortion but this year adding torture and genocide to the matters that should be considered. "It offers a basic moral framework on what it means to be a Catholic and American, a believer and a voter in this coming election year," said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y. The document does not endorse specific candidates but does outline the church's position on abortion and other issues that are deemed threats to the sanctity of human life - described as intrinsic evils.

Keeler's life and times March 4, 1931: Keeler is born in San Antonio. 1952: He graduates with a bachelor's degree from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook, Pa. July 17, 1955: Then-Archbishop Luigi Traglia ordains him a priest at the Church of the Holy Apostles, Rome. 1956: Keeler graduates from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome with his licentiate in sacred theology. 1961: Keeler earns his doctorate in canon law at the Gregorian University. 1962-1965: He serves as special adviser during the Second Vatican Council.

America's Roman Catholic bishops came to Baltimore at least 10 times in the 19th century to discuss issues they shared and make decisions that affected their far-flung flock. The bishops' meeting did not return again until 1989 -- for the bicentennial of the diocese, the first established in the United States. This week, they have retraced their steps to the country's "premier see" for the fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, with issues on the agenda including ministry to gays and clarifying the church's stance on contraception.