Catholic Charities

So the Vatican rears it's ugly head yet again ("Catholic Charities urged not to cut spouses' health benefits," Mar. 5). You've go to love dogma. Here we have a "faith based" organization whose mere existence is to help fellow human beings in need. Oh, except if you happen to work for this organization, and/or if you are a same sex couple. Oh, and now we'll just get around the problem of extending health benefits to same sex couples by doing away with any spousal health care benefits at all. Because, you see, our long charitable arm only reaches so far. Yes, here at Catholic Charities, we are here to help.

Editor: On behalf of the staff and clients at Anna's House, I want to express my gratitude for the wonderful private/public partnership and collaboration between Harford Transit, Harford County Parks and Recreation and Catholic Charities of Baltimore. So often we focus on all of the negative circumstances around us, and during this holiday season, I wanted to share some positive news.  Anna's House is a program of Catholic Charities of...

Regarding a reader's letter explaining why Catholic Charities in Boston and Washington, D.C., were "forced" to close their adoption and foster care services after refusing to place children with same-sex couples ("Catholics, gay marriage and religious liberty," Nov. 23), has anyone asked where those children who were not placed are now? If the same-sex couples applying to adopt children were processed the same way as heterosexual couples and found acceptable, what happened to all the children they would have adopted, children who were waiting and hoping for the chance to be part of a loving family but had to be turned away because of the church's policy against gay adoption?

The Scott Lee Foundation Inc. is sponsoring a free transitions job readiness workshop, "An Unemployment Makeover," on two days next month at Our Daily Bread Employment Center/Catholic Charities, 725 Fallsway, in Baltimore. Part 1 will be held Saturday, Dec. 1, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and part 2 is Saturday, Dec. 8, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. To register, go to thescottleefoundation.org and click on the register now button under workshops. The Scott Lee Foundation was founded by Portia Scott as a tribute to the memory of her daughter, Nicole Scott Lee, who believed in giving back to the community and served it through her membership in the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Banker William J. McCarthy Jr. is quick to acknowledge he'll have big shoes to fill when he succeeds Harold A. "Hal" Smith as executive director of Catholic Charities of Baltimore. Smith is stepping down Aug. 1 after 33 years at the charity's helm. "In Baltimore terms, that's kind of like replacing Brooks Robinson at third base," McCarthy said Tuesday after his hiring was announced. Adding to McCarthy's challenge is that he is taking over amid a recession that has seen Catholic Charities grapple with record demand for services as its financial resources have diminished.

The former chief operating officer of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington has called on the organization to reverse its recent decision to change health benefits for employees' spouses, a move designed to avoid legitimizing same-sex marriage. Tim Sawina, who was until last year one of the group's highest-ranking executives, called the elimination of spousal health benefits "devastating" and "wrong" in a letter Wednesday to the governing board of the social service organization.

Associated Catholic Charities wants to build an 80- to 90-unit apartment building in Odenton that would provide independent living for elderly Anne Arundel County residents with low to moderate incomes.The organization has been negotiating to purchase 5 acres off Odenton Road between a bowling alley and the Odenton branch library from Nellis Corp., which also owns the shopping center. Officials with Catholic Charities and Nellis say they are close to signing a contract on the land.With the O'Malley Senior Center, the Odenton Shopping Center and the library within walking distance, the land is a "great site" for senior housing, said Dale McArdle, director of housing services for Catholic Charities.

Paulette Fernekees has battled to keep her twin foster children alive ever since Catholic Charities placed them in her home six months ago.The 9-month-old infants are HIV positive, and suffer from developmental, hearing and vision problems. Still, under Fernekees' diligent care, they were thriving.The battle ended Wednesday when the agency removed the children on less than 24 hours notice. Now, she worries they won't survive."Nobody is going to fight for these children like I have," she said.

A deal that would allow Catholic Charities to buy and transform a blighted shopping center in the poor southern TC Baltimore neighborhood of Cherry Hill is close to complete, according to several sources.Catholic Charities and community leaders believe that revival of the 41,000-square-foot Cherry Hill Shopping Center is vital to revitalizing one of Baltimore's poorest neighborhoods. The median household income in Cherry Hill is $15,470, and the neighborhood is home to the city's largest public housing project.

SAN FRANCISCO - Catholic Charities must include contraceptives in its employee prescription drug coverage, even though the church believes birth control is sinful, the California Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The 6-1 ruling came in a case that has been watched around the country as a contest between advocates of making contraceptives widely available to women and religious groups that have sought broad exemptions based on their faiths. California is one of 20 states that require employers offering prescription drug benefits to also provide contraceptive coverage.

Given the millions of dollars that are being spent by both sides of Question 7 on advertising, I might feel a whole lot better about either side's intent if they had held a press conference stating that instead of spending their millions on advertising, they decided to donate directly to our schools and to essential non-profits like Living Classrooms and Catholic Charities instead of just making the owners of the local TV stations even richer in...

In his March 22 op-ed piece ("Why I chose Sandra Fluke") Rep. Elijah Cummings mistakenly identifies a freedom issue as awomen's healthissue. For decades employees have been able to save money on health insurance costs by opting out of certain coverages. People beyond child-bearing years, celibate women and others were able to opt out of maternity coverage. People who didn't want to pay extra for vision coverage or dental coverage could opt out of such coverage. The government telling private companies what they must sell is tyranny.

Regarding a reader's letter explaining why Catholic Charities in Boston and Washington, D.C., were "forced" to close their adoption and foster care services after refusing to place children with same-sex couples ("Catholics, gay marriage and religious liberty," Nov. 23), has anyone asked where those children who were not placed are now? If the same-sex couples applying to adopt children were processed the same way as heterosexual couples and found acceptable, what happened to all the children they would have adopted, children who were waiting and hoping for the chance to be part of a loving family but had to be turned away because of the church's policy against gay adoption?

A recent letter writer claims that gay marriage has no effect on religious liberty ("Gay marriage does not diminish religious liberty", Nov. 21). In fact, the assault on religious liberty has already begun. In 2006, for example, Catholic Charities of Boston was forced to close its adoption services because it refused to place children with homosexual couples, as required by state law. The same thing happened in February of 2010 in Washington, D.C., when Catholic Charities announced it was shutting down its foster-care and adoption programs rather than place children in homes with same-sex couples.

Torri Dietrich has joined Anna's House, a women's shelter serving Harford County, as the new director. She brings more than 25 years of experience in non-profit management, including a background in social work, fundraising and community development to the organization. Dietrich said in a press release she is excited about working with the dedicated team of professional staff and volunteers at Anna's House to help homeless women and their children achieve self-sufficiency and to reach their full potential.

For 35 years, Ron Ryba dreamed of a reunion with the infant son he and his high-school sweetheart had given up for adoption. Two days before Father's Day, that dream came true over burgers and beer at a Wilmington, Del., restaurant. The Timonium businessman said he and his newfound son, Kevin Callaghan of Philadelphia, were nervous at first. But that didn't last long. "He gave me a big hug, and told me he was happy to see me," Ryba said. "We had a couple of cheeseburgers, and shared our first beer together.

Associated Catholic Charities wants to build an 80- to 90-unit apartment building in Odenton that would provide independent living for elderly county residents with low to moderate incomes.The organization has been negotiating to purchase 5 acres off Odenton Road between a bowling alley and the Odenton branch library from Nellis Corp., which also owns the shopping center. Officials with Catholic Charities and Nellis say they are close to signing a contract on the land.With the O'Malley Senior Center, the Odenton Shopping Center and the library within walking distance, the land is a "great site" for senior housing, said Dale McArdle, director of housing services for Catholic Charities.

The Calvert Hall boys basketball team spent part of Monday at Loyola's gym, but the typical intensity that comes when the rivals are together was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was common ground. The usual competitive fire will resume Thursday when the teams meet in the Baltimore Catholic League quarterfinal round. But for Calvert Hall, Loyola and the six other BCL schools Monday, it was an invaluable chance to give back. All eight teams spent the day providing various community services, paired in two and working in conjunction with the Catholic Charities of Baltimore.

The United Way of Central Maryland announced this week that it will award $2.8 million to 55 organizations in Baltimore and its surrounding counties to help provide basic needs, such as food, housing and medical care. The board of directors voted this week on the funds for 55 different organizations that help the homeless or impoverished find affordable housing, education and career services and health care, as well as get basic needs like food, according to a statement released by the organization.