Parochial Schools

Sister Marie Edwina Dietrich, a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, died of pneumonia June 12 at St. Joseph Medical Center. She was 89. Born Elizabeth Dietrich in Baltimore and raised on Cuthbert Avenue in Pimlico, she attended St. Ambrose's Parochial School and joined the religious order in 1941, attending the sisters' high school in Fort Lee, N.J. She received the name Marie Edwina and earned a bachelor's degree at the College of Notre Dame...

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States reopens the wound of the child sexual abuse scandal that has left many victims angry and dispirited over the church's mishandling of pedophile priests and its lax response to the larger problem. It was an issue certain to confront the pope once he arrived, and when asked about it while flying to Washington, he didn't demur. His candor at feeling "deeply ashamed" should signal to Catholics a sincere recognition of the damage done to individuals and the church community.

Sister Elizabeth Rickle, a member of the Holy Union Sisters and a retired parochial school teacher, died of pulmonary disease Friday at St. Elizabeth Nursing Home in Southwest Baltimore. She was 90. Rita Elizabeth Rickle was born in Baltimore and raised on Riggs Avenue. She attended St. Edward's Parochial School and was a 1936 graduate of Seton High School. She entered a Roman Catholic religious community, the Holy Union Sisters, in Fall River, Mass., in 1936 and initially took the name Sister Frances Louise.

Sister Mary Denisia Filippo, a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame for 75 years, died of a heart attack Tuesday at her order's Baltimore County motherhouse. She was 97. Born Michelina Margaret Filippo in Philadelphia, she entered the religious order in 1931 and received the name Mary Denisia. She taught at the old St. James the Less parochial school in East Baltimore, St. Leo's in Little Italy, St. Joseph Monastery in Irvington and St. Ambrose in Park Heights. She also taught at her order's schools in Frederick, Cumberland, Harrisburg, Pa., and Brooklyn, N.Y. In 1980, Sister Denisia became the manager of St. Vincent Orphanage in Philadelphia.

Sister Dorothy Schleicher, a retired educator who had taught in area parochial schools, died of Alzheimer's disease Dec. 4 at The Villa, her order's retirement home in the Woodbrook section of Baltimore County. She was 85. Born and raised in South Baltimore, she was a 1941 graduate of Immaculata High School in Somerville, N.J. She entered the Sisters of Christian Charity and professed her vows in 1945. She attended what is now Seton Hall University and earned a bachelor's degree in social studies in 1950, and a master's in history there in 1960.

David Kenneth Guite, a parochial school principal and former Glen Burnie resident, died Saturday in George West, Texas, after being injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident. He was 40. Mr. Guite was born in Baltimore and raised in Glen Burnie. He was a 1984 graduate of Glen Burnie High School, where he had been an outstanding varsity basketball and soccer player. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1988 from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a law degree in 1991 from the University of Baltimore.

Sister Agnes Assisi Shipley, a retired parochial school teacher and member of the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia for 77 years, died Sunday of cardiopulmonary disease at her order's motherhouse in Aston, Pa. She was 91. Born Catherine Elizabeth Shipley in Baltimore, she entered the Roman Catholic religious order in 1929 and earned a degree in history from Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg and a master's degree from Catholic University of America....