Catholicism

It's shocking that the letter writer supporting same-sex marriage ("Catholics should know better than to oppose gay marriage," April 18) is Catholic. Was he asleep when his religion teacher said that the purpose of marriage is the procreation of children and that Christ made marriage a sacrament at the Wedding Feast of Cana? This is why the church opposes same-sex marriage. It has nothing to do with denying anyone their civil rights. It has everything to do with saving an institution which dates back to the beginning of the human race.

OK, I admit it. While the rest of the civilized world was glued to the Super Bowl, the TV in our house was emanating the glow of period drama -- the irresistible "Downton Abbey" on PBS. (I still think the Most Valuable Player Sunday night was Mrs. Hughes, the housekeeper who managed to tackle sexism, anti-Catholicism and smug-ism all in one fabulous game.) For the benefit of those who have not yet caught onto the Downton phenomenon -- and even more for the benefit of those who have -- Midweek Madness offers this unique introduction/recap/documentary:

The Rev. Edward Meeks and his flock attended to a "million and one details" last week in the run-up to a momentous day for their church. People to talk to. Flowers to arrange. Food to cook. And, of course, the new sign. On Sunday, Christ the King Church - Anglican - became Christ the King Catholic Church. The Towson congregation of about 140 is one of the first groups in the United States to join a new "ordinariate" established for those who want to be Catholic but hold on to Anglican traditions.

As a life-long Episcopalian and pledging member of my church, I've got some questions about the switch of Christ the King Anglican Church to Christ the King Catholic Church ("Anglican parish in Towson switches to Catholicism," June 25). One point, conspicuously absent in Jamie Smith Hopkins ' otherwise excellent report, was the question of birth control. Rev. Edward Meeks is married, but at age 64 the question of reproduction is moot. However, with so many young parishioners at Christ the King, what will the transfer to Catholicism mean in terms of these matters?

WHEN POPE John Paul II visited Baltimore nine years ago last month, he spoke lovingly about our country and our church, and about our rich ecumenical and interreligious history. At the Eucharist in Oriole Park that glorious October afternoon, he recalled something essential to our inheritance as Americans. "America has always wanted to be a land of the free," he said. "Today, the challenge facing America is to find freedom's fulfillment in the truth: the truth that is intrinsic to human life created in God's image and likeness."

The Rev. Peter E. Hogan, a member of the Josephite Fathers who was the order's archivist and an acknowledged expert on African-American Catholicism, died Wednesday at Mercy Medical Center of heart failure. He was 83. "He was as delightful a character as he was scholarly," said the Rev. Michael Roach, pastor of St. Bartholomew Roman Catholic Church in Manchester and a longtime friend. "He knew the history of blacks and the Catholic church and was without peer." Father Hogan was born and raised in Natick, Mass.

Is a need to hate essential to the human condition? No. But history and contemporary life insist that hating has beguiling charms. Denying them is a main job of civilization. That job's not being done very well these days. For the moment, put aside African-Americans, Jews, Latinos and other traditional hate targets and consider the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The most elegant description of anti-Catholicism I have read is John Highham's: "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history."

WASHINGTON -- The challenges confronting the Catholic Church in America are many: an aging membership, a declining priesthood, a sex abuse scandal that has rattled faith in the hierarchy. Roughly one-third of Americans who were raised Catholic have left the church, and those who remain are as divided over its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and other issues as the population at large. Still, as Pope Benedict XVI makes his first papal visit to the United States, he will find a church in the midst of renewal.

* Monsignor John Tracy Ellis, widely known as the dean of historians of American Catholicism, died Friday of complications from a fractured hip. He was 87. Monsignor Ellis' two-volume work on the life of Baltimore Archbishop James Cardinal Gibbons is recognized by experts as an important work for students of late 19th- and early 20th-century American Catholicism. He was a longtime professor of history and church history at Catholic University.* Oliver Shewell Franks, a British diplomat and academic who played a crucial role in putting the Marshall Plan for European recovery into effect after World War II, died Thursday at his home in Oxford, England.

As a life-long Episcopalian and pledging member of my church, I've got some questions about the switch of Christ the King Anglican Church to Christ the King Catholic Church ("Anglican parish in Towson switches to Catholicism," June 25). One point, conspicuously absent in Jamie Smith Hopkins ' otherwise excellent report, was the question of birth control. Rev. Edward Meeks is married, but at age 64 the question of reproduction is moot. However, with so many young parishioners at Christ the King, what will the transfer to Catholicism mean in terms of these matters?

The Rev. Edward Meeks and his flock attended to a "million and one details" last week in the run-up to a momentous day for their church. People to talk to. Flowers to arrange. Food to cook. And, of course, the new sign. On Sunday, Christ the King Church - Anglican - became Christ the King Catholic Church. The Towson congregation of about 140 is one of the first groups in the United States to join a new "ordinariate" established for those who want to be Catholic but hold on to Anglican traditions.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will be at the Enoch Pratt library's main branch on Thursday to discuss her new memoir, "Prague Winter," which delves into a family background that had been shielded from her for decades. As The Baltimore Sun's Mary Carole McCauley reports, in 1997, at age 59, just days after being confirmed as U.S. secretary of state, Albright learned about a family secret. "I had no idea that my family heritage was Jewish," said Albright, a native of Czechoslovakia.

It's shocking that the letter writer supporting same-sex marriage ("Catholics should know better than to oppose gay marriage," April 18) is Catholic. Was he asleep when his religion teacher said that the purpose of marriage is the procreation of children and that Christ made marriage a sacrament at the Wedding Feast of Cana? This is why the church opposes same-sex marriage. It has nothing to do with denying anyone their civil rights. It has everything to do with saving an institution which dates back to the beginning of the human race.

A police officer assigned to watch over a church nursery during Mass overhears the homily and becomes intrigued. A retail manager struggling with the loss of hours at work is inspired by the faith of his fiancee. A married mother of two looks for answers after two siblings are stricken with cancer. All have found their way to the Roman Catholic Church as members of the largest class of converts the Archdiocese of Baltimore has seen this decade. Nine hundred and eighty-four local adults are preparing to become Catholics during Holy Week this year, a third more than joined the church locally in 2008.

WASHINGTON -- The challenges confronting the Catholic Church in America are many: an aging membership, a declining priesthood, a sex abuse scandal that has rattled faith in the hierarchy. Roughly one-third of Americans who were raised Catholic have left the church, and those who remain are as divided over its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and other issues as the population at large. Still, as Pope Benedict XVI makes his first papal visit to the United States, he will find a church in the midst of renewal.

The future rolled into Our Lady of Pompei Church a few weeks ago. Her name was Yoselin Garcia, and she sat quietly in her stroller, a bit player in the vast demographic shift reshaping the Roman Catholic Church in America. The Garcias - mom, dad and three little girls - had stopped in at the Highlandtown church to drop off a baptism form for the youngest, 1-year-old Yoselin. The Rev. Luigi Cremis, wearing a smile so wide he squinted, cooed at the dark-haired girl and chatted with her sisters, Yasmin, 2, and Estefania, 6. As the Garcias ventured back into the bright East Baltimore sunshine, Father Luis, as everyone calls him, turned to the young patriarch, Maximo, who like his wife was born in Mexico.

Jean Guitton, 98, a Catholic philosopher and academic who was the only layman authorized to take part in the Second Vatican Council, died Sunday in Paris. Mr. Guitton, the oldest member of the Academie Francaise, was the author of about 30 works, mostly focusing on the relationship between Catholicism and modern thought.Dr. Russell Ross, 69, a University of Washington professor whose research made important advances in the understanding of why arteries harden, died Thursday of complications after cancer surgery in Seattle.

OK, I admit it. While the rest of the civilized world was glued to the Super Bowl, the TV in our house was emanating the glow of period drama -- the irresistible "Downton Abbey" on PBS. (I still think the Most Valuable Player Sunday night was Mrs. Hughes, the housekeeper who managed to tackle sexism, anti-Catholicism and smug-ism all in one fabulous game.) For the benefit of those who have not yet caught onto the Downton phenomenon -- and even more for the benefit of those who have -- Midweek Madness offers this unique introduction/recap/documentary:

The other night we were seated in my brother's Poultney Street house discussing a family anniversary. Had my mother lived, she would have turned 90 this week. Her first name was Stewart (maiden name Monaghan) and with that came with all the variants, including Stew or Stu, which she liked. She had another name, Marjorie, which she did not use or like. Stu Kelly had a connoisseur's love of Baltimore and was perhaps happiest while on foot, bus, taxi or streetcar moving quickly around the city.

First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3604 Chatham Road in Ellicott City, is sponsoring "Honoring Our Neighbors' Faith: An Evening of Dialogue and Understanding" from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday. The last in a series of dialogues about other traditions and beliefs, will focus on "Our Roman Catholic Neighbors." The Rev. Richard Tillman of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church will speak. Information: 410-465-2977. Train garden, open house The ninth annual Firefighters Holiday Train Garden and Open House is open at the Ellicott City Fire Station, 4150 Montgomery Road, Ellicott City.